


A Fortunate Mistake

by melblue



Category: Glee
Genre: First Time, Humor, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-22
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-03-19 00:32:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3589629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melblue/pseuds/melblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blaine Anderson makes a mistake that leads Puck and Kurt onto a path that neither of them ever imagined. Post Furt au. Kurt does not go to Dalton.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was the story I started to get me back into writing after hardly writing anything for close to two years! There's a mild dubious consent warning for one scene in the first chapter but otherwise this is basically fluff.

Kurt followed his father and Carole out of the Principal’s office and into the hallway in a state of numb disbelief. Karofsky was coming back and there was nothing they could do about it. Coach Sylvester’s offer to resign as Principal and to look out for him was all well and good but Kurt didn’t flatter himself that it would make much difference. The Coach was erratic at best and Kurt figured it wouldn’t be long before she either forgot or just plain lost interest in his problem. Aside from that, she couldn’t be everywhere at once anyway.

He sighed as his Dad and Carole turned to face him, both with worried frowns and a touch of anger still in their eyes.

“Well,” he said, “I guess I’ll try and enjoy the rest of the day before the terror starts anew. I’ll see you at home.”

His dad winced slightly and reached out to grasp his hand before Kurt could walk away.

“Kurt, I’m sorry. I really wish that we could do something about this. Carole and I looked at Dalton but we just can’t afford it and with the way the shop is at the moment and all the costs of moving and the wedding, well, it looks like we’ll be delaying the honeymoon too.”

Kurt swallowed heavily as guilt settled in his stomach. He’d had no idea that his Dad and Carole had looked into Dalton, and he’d also had no idea that things hadn’t been so great at the shop after his Dad’s illness. It wasn’t his parents fault that the school board hadn’t upheld Karofsky’s expulsion and it didn’t feel great to be adding to their burdens with his obvious anxiety over something that couldn’t be changed, so he forced a reassuring smile onto his face.

“You know me, Dad,” he said. “If I can be dramatic, I will. It won’t be that bad, I’m sure of it. The school board did give him that warning after all, and Finn and the others will look out for me now as well. I bet that he’ll just stay away from me completely and that’s all I want, really.”

His Dad didn’t look fully convinced but he nodded anyway. “Yeah,” he replied. “But, Kurt, if he so much as looks at you funny, I want you to tell me or Carole, right? No mucking around. You tell us. His father seemed like a reasonable guy at least, so I’m sure we can talk to him if we need to.”

“Of course, Dad,” Kurt assured him. “Look, I better get to Glee, class has already started.”

“Okay, sweetie,” Carole said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “We’ll see you later.”

Kurt could hear Mr. Schue going on about Sectionals the following week even as he approached the door but as he shuffled over to sit by Finn he couldn’t really bring himself to care.

“Dude,” Finn whispered, nudging Kurt with his elbow as Mr. Schue said something about solos. “Where have you been? And why do you look like you did that time I used your Hershey’s scarf to wash my truck? I said I was sorry about that, but it was in the laundry, bro, and I thought it was just a rag.”

“Hermes, Finn,” Kurt corrected automatically. “And I was with Dad and Carole. Karofsky’s not expelled anymore. He’s coming back tomorrow.”

“What the _hell_?” Finn said so loudly that the whole room fell silent as all eyes turned towards them.

“ _Finn_ ,” Kurt hissed, but Finn was already up on his feet.

“No, this is not cool,” Finn said, shaking his head. “They can’t do that. What’s Principal Sylvester say?”

“The School Board have already done it,” Kurt said wearily. “And Coach Sylvester isn’t the Principal anymore. Figgins is back tomorrow as well.”

There was silence again as everybody absorbed this news. When Kurt met Mr. Schue’s eyes he could tell that the teacher had already known about it. He gave Kurt a reassuring smile and Kurt couldn’t help thinking with bitterness that the smile was about as ineffectual as everything else about Mr. Schue. Then he told himself that he was being unfair – Mr. Schue meant well… and he did try at least.

“Okay, then,” it was Sam who spoke up first in an emphatic voice. “We’ll protect you.”

“Yeah,” Finn agreed, and then Kurt got the shock of his life when he heard Noah Puckerman agreeing as well.

“Yeah, dude, we’ll be like your secret service or something.”

He twisted in his seat to stare up at where Puck was sitting and the smile he got was completely genuine. Then as he looked around the room at the others he saw the same expressions of support and friendship and something warm bloomed in his heart.

Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

 

* * *

 

He was still holding onto that feeling when he talked to Blaine that night and even when he walked into McKinley the next morning, flanked by Finn and Mike.

It didn’t waver until he finally saw Karofsky approaching them along the hallway. Karofsky’s steps didn’t falter. Kurt’s mouth went dry with anxiety but Karofsky didn’t even look at him as he walked by and the relief Kurt felt almost made him feel faint.

“Looks like he’s just going to ignore you,” Mike said quietly. “And that is a very good thing.”

Kurt nodded his head in fervent agreement.

“I dunno,” Finn said, turning to watch Karofsky’s departure. “I kinda wanted an excuse to punch him in the head.”

“Finn,” Kurt said wryly. “That’s exactly what we need right now. You getting expelled instead of him.”

“Yeah, I know,” Finn said, winking at Mike. “I guess I’ll just have to wait until football practice.”

“God, you’re just as bad as Puck,” Kurt muttered as Mike laughed. He suspected that Finn was joking… or at least he really hoped so.

He only saw Karofsky twice more during the next couple of days, once when he was with Finn and Puck, and once when he was with Mike and Sam. Both times Karofsky completely ignored all of them.

Slowly, Kurt started to relax. At first he was a little worried that the boys might decide that they all had nothing to worry about and that they needn’t bother sticking by Kurt’s side in the hallways anymore, and he wondered if that was what Karofsky was waiting for. But the guys must have been thinking the same thing because they showed no signs of losing interest in being his protection squad and the girls were just as adamant about filling in the gaps when needed. It was a huge relief to Kurt, more than he could ever bring himself to show them, but he could, and did, show them how appreciative he was. He’d never baked so many cookies in his life… but he did it with a hopeful heart.

And then, on Wednesday afternoon in Math class, he got a strange text from an unknown number.

**_‘Are you missing me? Because I think I’m missing you.’_ **

Kurt frowned at his phone, glanced up at the teacher who seemed as oblivious as she usually was to the fact that there were students in the room, and then quickly typed a reply.

_‘What? Who is this?’_

**_‘You know who it is.’_ **

Kurt stared at the words with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Because, yeah, he pretty much did know who it was and the actual content of the message was even more disturbing than the fact that Karofsky was contacting him. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He could handle this.

_‘How did you get this number?’_

_**‘Your new brother leaves his phone around the locker room all the time.’** _

And that certainly sounded like Finn, Kurt thought with a grimace. But still, that didn’t make the problem go away and Kurt stared at his phone, perplexed and unable to think of anything except the words ‘ _just leave me alone’_. Whilst he was doing that another message came through.

_**‘The locker room. I think about it a lot.’** _

Kurt couldn’t contain his little gasp, and he cast a quick glance around the room, hoping that no one had noticed. When he found Mercedes looking at him, he gave her a quick smile and shrugged. Eventually she looked away and Kurt stared at his phone again.

 _‘I don’t care,’_ he typed. _‘Leave me alone.’_

_**‘Now don’t be like that. Maybe I want to apologize.’** _

Kurt frowned at his phone. _‘Do you?’_

Almost as soon as he sent it he regretted it. It sounded weak, like he wanted Karofsky to apologize, like he needed it, but instead all he really wanted was for Karofsky to just leave him alone.

_**‘Meet me in the locker room and find out.’** _

And crap, was Karofsky _flirting_ with him? The thought made Kurt feel a little sick and a lot uneasy.

He had to shut this down now.

_‘No. Leave me alone. If you don’t, I’ll show these texts to the school board.’_

**_‘That won’t prove anything. What makes you think I’m sending them from my own phone? But, yeah, I know you think I’m stupid.’_ **

And the weird thing about that, Kurt thought, was that he didn’t really think Karofsky was stupid, not anymore, but he did think he might be dangerous.

**_‘You won’t be able to prove who this is. Nobody will believe you.’_ **

Kurt stared at that last message his heart thumping in his chest. It struck a chord, because that was always the crux of the whole thing, wasn’t it? Would anyone believe him? Coach Sylvester had, his closest friends did, but Kurt knew that it would be all too easy for Karofsky to turn Kurt into the villain and that most of the school would believe Karofsky, would be on his side. Including the school board. They finally had a successful football team and Karofsky was part of that. Whilst Kurt was the weird gay kid. Who sang in the dumb Glee club.

 _‘Leave me alone,’_ he finally typed back. _‘I’m not answering you anymore.’_

_**‘Okay. See you around, fancy.’** _

Kurt blinked in confusion. The swift capitulation only made him more uneasy, as did the promise of ‘ _see you around’_. It felt like he was sinking back into the nightmare, once again alone, and it was even worse after the brief reprieve he’d had in the last few days.

He should tell someone about this. Shouldn’t he? But who? Finn? His Dad and Carole? Or the other guys? He had the texts but again all he could hear in his head was ‘ _nobody will believe you’_. They’d go through the whole round of putting in a complaint, only to have it ignored yet again. If Coach Sylvester hadn’t been able to get the complaint to stick there was no chance that Figgins would. He wouldn’t even try. There’d be more rumours, more trouble. Eventually the others might even feel like it was too much trouble to be involved in the whole thing and they’d stop helping him.

Class ended and Kurt left the room in a daze, practically ignoring Mercedes until she grabbed his arm and demanded to know what was wrong with him.

“Just a headache,” he mumbled, and she nodded in sympathy and walked with him to his car.

He got in and drove. He had a vague feeling that he was supposed to wait for Finn, but his mind was too full to really pay attention and he got home without really being aware of how he got there.

He went up to his new room. He still wasn’t used to it, but he was already beginning to love it. The decorations he’d chosen were all so much warmer, but at this moment, he sort of longed for the cold, elegant perfection of his old basement room.

And really, he thought suddenly, dropping his bag on the floor and slumping on the bed, he had to snap out of this fugue and decide what to do. It didn’t seem like Karofsky was just going to go away and Kurt couldn’t even figure out what it was that Karofsky wanted. Did he want to scare Kurt? Or flirt with him? Was he still a rabid closet-case or were the weird, vaguely threatening ( _nobody will believe you)_ messages he’d sent been a signal that he was trying to come out.

It was all too difficult… and why did it have to be Kurt’s problem, he wondered. Well, it wasn’t going to be his problem. It was only text messages. As long as Karofsky actually physically stayed away from him, Kurt decided he could cope.

 

* * *

 

He was in Math class again when he got the next message.

**_‘We need to talk.’_ **

Kurt ignored it, but when the same message came a few seconds later, and then yet again, he rolled his eyes and tapped out a reply.

_‘No. We don’t.’_

**_‘Meet me in the astronomy room after class.’_ **

Kurt snorted softly at the message but he couldn’t deny that the sour feeling in his stomach was anxiety. He didn’t answer.

**_‘Come on, fancy. Don’t be like that. I just want to talk to you. Alone, so leave your little band of guards out of it.’_ **

Kurt stared at his phone in disbelief.

_‘You really think I’m going to be alone with you? Leave. Me. Alone.’_

_**‘Come on, it won’t be for long. I have practice after. Just need to tell you something.’** _

_‘Tell me on the phone. Right now.’_

He wanted to take back the text as soon as he’d sent it… because it meant he’d opened a dialogue with Karofsky. He’d made it look like he wanted to know what Karofsky had to say and he had a feeling that Karofsky would jump all over it.

_**“Can’t on phone. Have to give you something. Look, I won’t hurt you. Promise. Just need to talk to you. I’ll be waiting in the astronomy room.’** _

Kurt chewed on his bottom lip, reading the message over and over. He couldn’t do this, he thought, meeting up with Karofsky would be a crazy thing to do, no matter how curious he might be… and he had to admit that he was starting to get curious.

Ten minutes went by and Kurt breathed a sigh of relief but then, just before class ended, he got another text. It was one word.

_**‘Please.’** _

Kurt’s eyebrow shot up at the word ‘please’. He hadn’t been sure that Karofsky even knew such a word existed. His curiosity was growing… and also a fair bit of hope. Hope that Karofsky might actually want to apologize and this whole thing would be over. He wished he had time to consult Blaine, but he had a feeling that Blaine would probably tell him to give Karofsky one last chance.

Kurt made a snap decision and hoped fervently that he wouldn’t regret it later. He sent a quick text to the others to say that he’d got out of class early and had already left the school. He lingered for a few moments in the Maths room, and then sped through the practically empty hallways to the astronomy room before he could think too much about what he was doing.

He darted through the door, looking around to see if Karofsky was there, but when he heard the door shut behind him he spun on his heel to find Karofsky leaning against the closed door with his arms crossed over his chest. There was a strange and discomforting smirk on his face.

Kurt swallowed heavily and his regret was already rising. He couldn’t believe how thoroughly stupid he’d been.

“I think I should go,” he said, wincing at how choked and scared he sounded, as Karofsky took a step towards him.

“I said I won’t hurt you,” Karofsky said in a soft, flat voice.

Kurt backed up in the room, found himself against the chalkboard and tried to look nonchalant as he leaned against it, not caring if he was getting chalk dust all over the back of his sweater.

“Well, say what you wanted to say,” he said, thankful that he didn’t sound as if he was drowning this time.

There were a few moments of tense silence whilst Karofsky glared at him and Kurt tried not to think about how the school was probably empty by now except for the football team… who were in the locker rooms all the way over the other side of the building.

“You’ll miss practice,” Kurt finally prompted nervously, and then jumped slightly as Karofsky let out an explosive breath of frustration.

“I need your help,” he said, with a tightly clenched jaw. “You don’t know what this is like.”

Kurt cleared his throat a little, trying to think what he could possibly say, especially when Karofsky was now pacing the room and looking a little frantic.

“Actually, I do,” he finally said, and when Karofsky shot him a surprised look, he pointed a finger at himself. “Gay, remember? Just because I’m out doesn’t mean it was easy to accept. And I still had to tell my dad. And I go to this school, which is not the most gay-friendly place in Lima, as you well know. Believe me, if I wasn’t kind of easy to pick, I’d probably have stayed in the closet too.” He wasn’t entirely sure that was true but it couldn’t hurt to give Karofsky a little reassurance.

“I don’t give a fuck about closets,” Karofsky said impatiently. “I’m not even sure I’m gay. The problem is you.”

Some sort of minor alarm bell went off in Kurt’s head but he steadily ignored it and gave Karofsky a questioning look.

“Me,” he said, flatly, and not without resentment.

“I think about it all the time. I can’t get it out of my head.”

Karofsky’s pacing had brought him closer and even as he gazed at the other boy in confusion Kurt couldn’t help anxiously wishing that he wasn’t trapped against the chalkboard. He seemed to have the worst survival instincts of anyone he knew and his dad would probably be furious if he ever found out.

“Can’t get what out of your head?” he asked, faintly.

“That kiss,” Karofsky replied, with his own level of resentment loud and clear. “Kissing _you_.”

The alarm bell was now major and could no longer be ignored. Kurt stared at Karofsky blankly.

“I need to get it out of my system,” Karofsky said quietly, taking a step closer and Kurt flung out a hand of protest.

“Whoa, back off,” he said, both surprised and proud that he sounded so firm. “What you need to do is talk to someone. A professional. Someone who can help you with what you’re feeling. It’s got nothing to do with me, you need to understand that.”

Karofsky shook his head. “This is everything to do with you,” he said, still in that quiet voice. “This is _your_ fault, so you owe me. I need to get this whole thing out of my system.

Something very unpleasant was now squirming in Kurt’s stomach and his heart was starting to pound in his chest. Karofsky took another step forward and Kurt began to sidle along the chalkboard in an effort to get to the door. He didn’t get far because suddenly Karofsky’s big hand landed next to his head, blocking his path.

“Look… um… David,” Kurt said, trying to keep his voice calm. “This is a common mistake. You have to realize that you’ve kind of fixated on me because I’m the out gay kid. I can’t help you. Whatever you’re thinking right now isn’t going to help you… you need to get proper help. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you could start with Miss Pillsbury, she could at least refer you to someone. Or an lgbt group. I could find one for you and-“

“Will you shut up?” Karofsky interrupted, shaking his head. “You talk way too fucking much, you know. Just one kiss. That’s all I need.”

Kurt’s breath caught in his throat in pure panic. There was something implacable about Karofsky’s single-minded expression as he looked at Kurt… and Kurt knew that he didn’t have a chance if it came down to a physical fight.

“But I don’t want to kiss you,” he said as calmly as he could. “And you promised that you wouldn’t hurt me.”

For a moment Karofsky looked confused and maybe even a little hurt, but then his expression cleared into some sort of resolve. He was close enough now that Kurt could hear the hitch in his breathing and see his darkened eyes, the flush in his skin. Kurt had never had a boyfriend but he had some idea of what those signs meant. Karofsky might have fixated on him as a way to deal with what he was going through, a way to have someone else to blame, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t feel some sort of arousal, and the idea of it froze Kurt completely.

Before he could manage to unfreeze himself, Karofsky leaned in and it was only at the last moment that Kurt was at least able to turn his head away.

Karofsky’s lips landed on his throat, and then slid down lower. Kurt could feel his tongue and his teeth working and knew that it would mark. It didn’t feel completely unpleasant, but the knowledge that it was Karofsky doing it made him shudder with something close to revulsion. Karofsky obviously noticed and misunderstood the shiver because he suddenly moaned softly, and his mouth sucked harder. But it wasn’t until his large hands landed on Kurt’s hips and gripped hard that Kurt was finally able to move.

“ _Get off me_ ,” he snarled, shoving Karofsky as hard as he could, and then as Karofsky, taken by surprise, stumbled back, Kurt quickly picked up his previously discarded bag, and ran… and ran… and ran.

Kurt shot upright with a gasp and looked wildly around the room. Everything was comforting and familiar with the late afternoon sun streaming through the curtains.

He could hear someone stomping up the stairs and he wasn’t surprised when he heard Finn’s voice.

“Thanks for forgetting about me, Kurt,” he called through Kurt’s closed door. “I had to get a lift with Brittany and I still can’t figure out what she was talking about the entire time. I hate that.”

“Uh… sorry, Finn,” Kurt managed to choke out, struggling to take some deep breaths.

He heard Finn’s door shut and he slumped back onto the bed. It had been a dream. A disturbing and horrible dream… and thank god he hadn’t actually been really that stupid as to go off and meet Karofsky on his own.

But he’d had these nasty dreams before, and it meant that, once again, Karofsky was getting to him. And he hated that.

Hell, he needed to talk to someone, and there was only one person who would really understand what was going on.

Kurt got up, went over to his desk, opened his laptop and dialled up Blaine on Skype.


	2. Chapter 2

Blaine, once again, flipped through the texts that Kurt had forwarded to him and frowned. He’d hoped, just as Kurt had, that Karofsky had backed off but now it seemed he hadn’t and Blaine couldn’t help feeling that he was a little responsible… and he did not like the feeling of guilt. He never had.

If he hadn’t encouraged Kurt to confront Karofsky, if he hadn’t then gone and confronted Karofsky himself, maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so out of hand. Still, it might have escalated anyway. Karofsky’s issue wasn’t going to go away.

“Promise me you won’t try to meet him alone,” he finally said, and Kurt’s bitter laugh echoed through his speakers.

“After the dream I just had, that’s a promise I can easily make.”

“You’re dreaming about this again?”

Kurt shrugged. “I suppose it was bound to happen.”

Blaine could see that Kurt was trying to be nonchalant, but knew Kurt well enough now not to be fooled. If Kurt was having dreams about this again then it meant that he was more worried and affected by this texting incident than he cared to admit.

“I think we should tell someone,” Blaine blurted out before he could really think it through, and of course Kurt immediately frowned.

“Blaine-“

“No wait, hear me out, Kurt,” Blaine continued. “We don’t have to out him to everyone but we should show someone these texts and let someone know the reasons why he’s so focused on you. These texts, well, they’re flirty and kind of menacing at the same time. If we let this go on, well, I hate to say it, but what happened in your dream could become a reality.”

As he finished Kurt was already shaking his head and Blaine’s heart sank. He couldn’t help feeling slightly annoyed that Kurt had been willing to follow his bad advice but now that Blaine was finally giving him some good advice, Kurt was digging in his heels.

“Like he said, Blaine,” Kurt was saying. “There’s no way of proving who these texts are from, unless they are from his phone and we could somehow steal it. And I don’t think he used his own phone, just as he said. So, again this is just my word against his and look where that got me last time. A lot of people in this town and at that school would choose to believe him whatever he decided to tell them. And making these texts public, well, that would out him and he did threaten to kill me if I told anyone, remember? I still haven’t even told my Dad what really happened; he still thinks that Karofsky is just a homophobic jerk.”

“Well, at least tell the guys in the Glee club, Kurt,” Blaine said hopefully. “We could make sure they understood how important it is not to out Karofsky but at least they’d know what to look out for.”

“No,” Kurt replied, in a choked voice. “My history with Finn… well, he’s only just stopped thinking of me as ‘the predatory gay’ and I can’t risk it. And Puck, and the others, would just end up thinking that I’d brought it on myself somehow. Maybe Sam wouldn’t, but with the others I’d probably end up back where I was last year.”

“But they’ve been protecting you,” Blaine reminded him, but Kurt shook his head again.

“I know,” he said. “But how long would that last if they thought that I’d somehow infected Karofsky with the gay? And he’d tell them that that’s what I’d done… that I’d gone after him or something. He’s their football teammate, remember? Bros before homos, that’s what they’d think. No, if it’s just texts, if I’m never alone with him, then I can cope.”

Blaine sighed, but he let it go. He could see that he didn’t have a hope of convincing Kurt. There was a look in Kurt’s eyes that Blaine hadn’t seen in them since before Karofsky had been expelled. It was a mixture of fear and stubborn helplessness and he knew that Kurt was back into the mindset that Karofsky was an issue that he had to face alone… and it just made Blaine feel even more responsible than he did already. After all, if he hadn’t advised Kurt to confront Karofsky maybe things wouldn’t have gotten so bad but it was too late to take it back now. All he could hope to do was to try to prove to Kurt that there were some of his friends who would help him, even the ones that Kurt thought wouldn’t.

They talked for a few more minutes and then Kurt had to go. Blaine sat for a long while, staring blankly at his computer screen and thinking hard. He really couldn’t help feeling that Kurt was seriously underestimating not only his friend’s loyalty but also how dangerous the situation with Karofsky could become and it just didn’t sit right with Blaine to let it go. Not when he felt that some of it was his own fault.

He was definitely going to have to do something about it.

The question, of course, was what? He still felt that one other person at least, someone at McKinley, should be made aware of what was really going on with Karofsky. But the problem was that meant going behind Kurt’s back… and if he was going to do that, he was going to have to choose who that one other person was very carefully.

He didn’t really know all that much about Kurt’s Glee friends, because in an unspoken agreement, they never really discussed Glee club at all. He’d met Mercedes, of course, but Blaine had sensed that, at the time, she hadn’t been so thrilled about Kurt’s new friendship. He’d heard about Rachel and Tina, but Kurt’s friendship with Rachel seemed a tad prickly and Tina was involved with one of the guys who were currently protecting Kurt. That could be the answer but Kurt had mentioned that Tina had witnessed some of Karofsky’s behaviour firsthand and hadn’t really bothered to speak up about it until Rachel had, and it seemed to have soured the friendship a little for Kurt.

Out of the guys Kurt had really only talked that much about Sam, the new member of the Glee club. Blaine had a feeling that maybe a little crush had been involved but, whatever the case, Kurt definitely seemed to feel that Sam was the most open-minded out of the boys and that he already felt more comfortable with him than he did with some of the guys he’d known longer.

So, Sam was probably the best possibility, and Blaine now remembered that it had been Sam who’d ended up in a physical fight with Karofsky over the whole Kurt issue.

Decision made then. Now he just had to go through with it. It was risky but he knew that Kurt’s Glee club had a rehearsal before school the next morning and, whilst it meant that he’d end up late for his own classes at Dalton, Blaine figured it was probably his best chance of tracking down one Sam Evans, considering that all he had was a name and a vague physical description.

So that was how Blaine found himself hiding behind a dilapidated pick-up truck in the McKinley school car park, shivering in the frosty morning air, and wondering if he’d somehow gone out of his mind.

There were a few students wandering around and Blaine had already seen Kurt go into the building with Finn and an Asian guy, but the truth was he had no idea how he was going to figure out who Sam actually was, aside from the fact that he might have already gone inside as well.

“Hey Quinn.”

Blaine turned quickly at the sound of the loud, male voice, to see a fairly tall guy jogging towards a pretty, blonde girl in a cheerleading outfit who’d stopped to wait for him. The guy was wearing jeans and a McKinley jacket but unfortunately he had a knitted hat pulled down over his head. Blaine couldn’t blame him because it was decidedly chilly but it unfortunately meant that he couldn’t tell whether the guy had blonde hair or not. He was pretty sure it had to be Sam though because, with a little thrill of satisfaction, he’d remembered that the name of Sam’s girlfriend was Quinn.

The two talked for a moment, whilst Blaine tried to figure out how he was going to get Sam’s attention, and then the girl suddenly turned and left, walking quickly into the building. Blaine seized the opportunity and sprinted over to where Sam was still standing, his hands thrust deep into his pockets.

“Excuse me,” Blaine said politely, as the guy turned to look at him. “Hi. Would you be Sam Evans from the McKinley Glee Club? I’m Blaine Anderson from Dalton Academy. Could I talk to you for a moment?”

Dark brown eyes seemed to assess him from head to foot and then the guy kind of smirked at him in a way that made Blaine wonder if choosing Sam had really been the right idea.

“Dude,” the guy said in a warm velvet voice that did something a little weird to Blaine’s insides, “if you’re here to spy for your Gargler’s group or whatever, then you’re wasting your time. We never put together a set list until the very last minute. It’s kind of a tradition.”

Blaine blinked a little at that, but Kurt had mentioned that New Directions was fairly unorthodox, so he shook it off and got back to the point of his visit.

“No, I’m not a spy,” he said. “And it’s the Warblers by the way. However, I actually want to talk to you about Kurt. Kurt Hummel.”

“Yeah, I know who Kurt is,” the guy said, narrowing his eyes. “Look, I never thought he’d take me seriously and actually go and spy on you guys, okay? Just let it go, the dude’s got enough problems at the moment as it is anyway.”

“Yes, I know,” Blaine agreed, earnestly. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I really feel that someone here should know what’s really going on with Karofsky and Kurt seems to trust you, Sam.”

“Oh yeah, good old Sam Evans,” Sam said, still with that narrow-eyed look. He sounded slightly sarcastic, which made Blaine feel a little off-balance but before he could say anything, Sam reached out and gripped his arm.

“Hey, what do you mean about Karofsky?”

“Well,” Blaine said slowly, feeling a little hesitant, because this was it, after this there was no turning back, and he still didn’t feel that great about going behind Kurt’s back.

“First,” he continued, “you’ve got to understand that you can’t tell anyone about this. No one at all.”

Sam looked a little surprised, or perhaps confused, but he let go of Blaine’s arm and nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” he said.

“I really mean it,” Blaine said. “And it’s really important that Kurt doesn’t know that I talked to you either.”

“Yeah, I get it, dude,” Sam said, a hint of impatience in his voice. “Don’t tell anyone. Now, get to the point. What did you mean about Karofsky?”

Blaine took a deep breath. “Okay, so, the reason that Karofsky has a problem with Kurt is that he’s confused about his own sexuality.”

“You mean he’s gone homo?” Sam asked, frowning.

“Uh… yeah I guess you could put it like that,” Blaine said, uncomfortably. “He’s realizing that he’s attracted to guys and he’s obviously having some difficulty accepting it. Unfortunately he seems to have sort of fixated on Kurt.”

“Oh, hold up,” Sam said, and he almost looked amused. “Are you telling me that _Karofsky_ wants to do Kurt?”

Blaine blinked in confusion, once again questioning the wisdom of his decision because somehow he really hadn’t expected Sam Evans to talk the way he was or to react the way he was. Well, not from the way Kurt had described him anyway.

“Look, this is serious,” he said, firmly. “This isn’t just about bullying a gay kid, this is more serious than that. And it could get worse. The reason he threatened to kill Kurt was to stop him from telling anyone. So, I’m taking a big risk telling you this, but I really think that someone here needs to know what’s going on. I know that you guys have been protecting Kurt but Karofsky hasn’t stopped. He’s started sending Kurt texts.”

After Blaine had finished talking, Sam gave him that assessing look again and Blaine tried not to shuffle his feet. Kurt hadn’t mentioned that Sam could be rather… disconcerting. He also hadn’t mentioned how solid he looked. He was pretty sure that Sam could lift him off his feet with one hand if he chose to, and if Kurt was wrong about how Sam was more open-minded than most, Sam might just choose to do that.

“What texts?”

Blaine blinked at the sudden question and quickly fished out his phone.

“I can show you what Kurt showed me but I don’t have Kurt’s replies.”

Sam took his phone, stared at the screen, and glanced at Blaine with sharp eyes.

“What’s all this stuff about the locker room?”

“Oh… um…” Blaine stammered. He’d forgotten about that and he felt stupid, particularly when Sam had been so quick to pick up on the fact that there was something significant about the locker room.

“Just tell me, dude,” Sam said tightly.

“Okay.” Blaine nodded. “Well, they kind of got into an argument – Karofsky had been slamming Kurt into lockers all day - and Kurt finally confronted him in the locker room.”

For a moment he thought that Sam looked surprised… and maybe impressed, but a moment later the look was gone.

“So, what happened?” Sam asked.

“Well, Karofsky grabbed him and kissed him, then Kurt shoved him away and Karofsky ran off,” Blaine blurted. “And I really shouldn’t have told you that… if Kurt finds out…”

He finally stopped babbling, mainly because he could see Sam’s hand tightening on his phone and it looked like it could break any second. He glanced up at Sam’s face, saw the anger in his eyes, and took a quick step back.

Sam took a deep breath and handed Blaine his phone.

“Adjust your nuts, Gargler,” he said, and Blaine gaped at him. “Kurt won’t find out you told me.”

“Oh… um,” Blaine mumbled, still taken aback at the extraordinary thing that Sam had just said to him. Sam merely looked amused.

“So, how do you know about all this?” Sam asked, once again scanning Blaine from head to foot. “You Kurt’s boyfriend or somethin’?”

“Uh… no.” Blaine smiled weakly. “Just a friend. When we met… I could tell something was bothering him… and he needed someone to talk to.”

“Is that so,” Sam said. He thrust his chin forward and suddenly he looked a little belligerent. “So, why didn’t he talk to us?”

And Blaine was speechless. He had no idea what to say and Sam was looking more offended by the second.

“I guess he was in too dark a place,” he finally said, as diplomatically as he could. “I guess he felt like he was confined, isolated, like being in jail or something.”

Sam blinked at him and the mulish look faded from his face. “Yeah, I guess I can understand that,” he said. “Not too much light in jail, believe me.”

Now it was Blaine’s turn to blink but before he could say anything Sam was asking another question.

“And why are you taking it upon yourself to tell me all this?”

“I told you,” Blaine replied. “I felt someone should know. I’m worried about Kurt. When all this was happening before he was having bad dreams about it. A lot. After he got those messages, he started having bad dreams again.”

Sam’s dark eyes seemed to bore into him for a moment, and really, he’d had no idea that someone could be so… intense.

After a moment Sam seemed to come to some internal decision but whatever it was, he didn’t tell Blaine. Instead he took a step away from him.

“Okay. I have to go,” he said. “I’m already late for Glee… and we don’t want anyone seeing you here, now do we? Thanks for lettin’ me know what’s been going on.”

“Of course,” Blaine said. “Thanks Sam. And you’ll… um… I mean…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sam said. “I’ll take care of everything. Don’t you worry, little Gargler. Just leave it to good old Sam Evans.”

And then Sam was sprinting up the front steps of McKinley and Blaine was left to wander back to his car, trying to reassure himself that he’d done the right thing, even if his conversation with Sam hadn’t gone quite the way he’d expected.


	3. Chapter 3

Puck’s first instinct, on entering McKinley, was to find Karofsky and beat the living shit out of him, so it was probably a good thing that Karofsky wasn’t actually at the school yet. Puck certainly had no desire to end up back in juvie, and he’d kind of just promised the gelled-up hobbit from the Garglers that he’d look out for Kurt. He couldn’t do that if he was expelled.

But still, he thought as he made his way to the choir room, he should actually make sure that the promise he’d just made was necessary. After all, the Gargler could have just been trying to mess with them, using Kurt’s situation with Karofsky to unsettle them all just a couple of days off from Sectionals.

He wasn’t exactly sure how he was going to do that until he walked into glee and saw Kurt sitting at the back looking at something on his phone. Puck had always been proud of his sneak thief skills and it looked like this was the perfect time to use them. Once Mr. Schue arrived it turned out to be an even easier matter than he’d thought it would be to quietly lift Kurt’s phone from his bag, have a look, and then return it, and that was because the building tension between Santana and Rachel finally exploded with Santana’s announcement that she’d done the deed with Finn the previous year. Apparently the big idiot had lied to Rachel about it and in all the ensuing drama Puck was damned sure that no one had seen him lifting Kurt’s phone.

So, he had to admit the Gargler had been telling the truth and he also had to admit that what he found on the phone disturbed him. Aside from the Karofsky of it all, it hadn’t sat well with him to see Kurt’s constant pleas to Karofsky to just leave him alone. This was Kurt Hummel, the guy who’d perfected his bitch face to extraordinary levels and Puck had always secretly rather admired that, even when he’d still been tossing Hummel into dumpsters. He could sense that the Kurt in those text messages was rattled, that he wasn’t himself, and Puck didn’t like it.

And then there was Karofsky. What exactly was the dumbfuck trying to do here? The messages were both flirty and vaguely threatening and, yeah, that was disturbing… if the guy was actually trying to come out and get himself a boyfriend this was not the way to do it. His history with Quinn and some of the things he’d seen in juvie had made Puck damned certain that he wasn’t down with the dub-con, not on any level, and he’d had a moment of pure fury when the hobbit had told him about what had gone down in the locker room.

He barely paid attention during the rehearsal, his mind was busy trying to figure it all out, and he had no real interest in whatever was going on with Santana, Finn and Rachel. Santana liked her games but Puck knew how she really felt about Brittany and he figured this was just her way of relieving her tension over Brittany’s relationship with Artie. So it wasn’t until Mr. Schue started rehearsing Sam and Quinn for their duet that he remembered that, technically, he wasn’t supposed to know anything at all about this whole thing.

It was Sam Evans, the ‘Golden Boy’, who was supposed to have found out about it. The Gargler had made a simple mistake and Puck had found himself going along with it, mainly because he’d got back from juvie to find Quinn and half of the school drooling over Sam Evans. Puck knew he still held as much sway in the school as Sam, perhaps even more, but Sam’s sway was because he was the hero, the injured quarterback - dating the head cheerleader - who’d gone up against Karofsky in defence of his team-mates, whereas Puck was the bad guy, the dude to be scared of. Once he’d been satisfied with that but not anymore.

It had been fucking annoying to find that even someone from another school was ready to trust Sam Evans… and the fact that he’d chosen Sam meant that Kurt must have let something slip to show that he trusted Sam too... even ahead of Finn.

And yeah, he knew that they all had history with Kurt that Sam didn’t have, he could understand that, but it had still annoyed him… and in that moment, he’d found himself wanting to steal a little of Sam Evan’s thunder for himself.

Of course, now he had to deal with the fallout of that.

He was going to do it though; he was serious about that promise he’d made to the preppy midget. He’d had a feeling that they’d almost lost Kurt to Dalton, that even now if Kurt could find a way he’d leave, and Puck had to admit that he felt somewhat responsible for that. He’d sent Kurt off to Dalton, and kind of told him that he’d be better off there, that he’d fit in better, and he’d done it in a way that Artie had called ‘insensitive’. Whatever. The point was, they needed Kurt, and it was about time that Kurt got what _he_ needed from them. And Puck figured that that was what Artie called ‘being supportive’.

He could do that. Kurt was his boy now and he could do that.

For the rest of the morning he had a hard time keeping to his new resolve to pay attention in classes, instead he found himself spending most of the time thinking hard about the situation. It was going to be difficult to do this without Kurt figuring out the Gargler had told on him and really the only way that Puck could think of dealing with all of those problems in one hit was to do something he’d never planned to do in high school, if at all.

He’d have to test the waters first though because if he was going to put himself between Kurt and Karofsky he wanted to be damned sure that it had a chance of working.

So when he got to the cafeteria at lunchtime instead of taking his usual seat at the glee table, he deliberately sat next to Kurt. Kurt gave him one puzzled look and returned to his gabfest with Mercedes. Puck watched him for a second, noting the tension in his shoulders, and then scanned the cafeteria.

He found Karofsky sitting at a nearby table with a couple of other guys from the football team and, sure enough, he was occasionally looking over at Kurt. Puck tried to figure it out; sometimes Karofsky looked almost blank when he looked at Kurt as if he was keeping himself tight and controlled, sometimes he looked slightly confused, but his gaze was always heavy. There was definitely something going on there. Something more than just hating on Kurt because he was gay.

Artie had wheeled up whilst Puck had been watching Karofsky and started talking about something or other and Puck leaned back in his seat as if he was listening intently. He stretched out his arm and casually laid it across the back of Kurt’s chair… he was pretty sure that from where Karofsky was he wouldn’t be able to tell whether Puck was actually touching Kurt or not.

The reaction was immediate. Karofsky frowned and his gaze shifted to Puck and turned into a glare. Puck gave him the Puck Special, a knowing smirk that was always successful even when Puck actually didn’t know anything. Karofsky flushed and quickly looked away but Puck could see his hands tightening into fists on the table.

He decided, on the spur of the moment, to push it a little further. He leaned closer to Kurt and reached across to swipe what unfortunately turned out to be a celery stick from his tray.

“Hey,” Kurt turned towards him and actually smacked Puck’s hand. Honestly, it couldn’t have gone better if he’d planned it.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kurt demanded, and Puck popped the celery stick into his mouth, winced, and then smiled at Kurt’s outrage.

“Sorry. Hungry,” he said, and Kurt looked pointedly at Puck’s not at all empty tray.

“I’m going on a health kick,” Puck told him. Kurt gave him another puzzled look and slowly turned back to Mercedes. Puck wandered if he’d not noticed Puck’s arm along the back of his chair or if he was just deliberately ignoring it.

When Puck turned away and glanced over at Karofsky’s table, Karofsky was gone.

So, it seemed his idea would probably work. If he was prepared to go through with it… because it probably wouldn’t be enough to just warn Karofsky off, although that was the obvious next step.

“Hey, Mike,” Puck called across the table, interrupting Artie in mid-sentence. “Can I trade guard detail with you this afternoon?”

“Ah, I’m on with Finn,” Mike replied, glancing along the table to where Finn was sitting with Rachel, looking bewildered as Rachel whispered furiously into his ear.

And that was another thing Puck wouldn’t mind sorting out. He and Finn had slowly been getting closer again, or at least Finn was tolerating him, but maybe this could also be the way to get back on track there as well.

“No probs for me,” he said.

“Great,” Mike nodded. “Tina and I originally had plans anyway. I mean, not that… um…”

Mike glanced at Kurt and flushed and Puck didn’t blame him. From where his arm was still close to Kurt he could feel the increased tension radiating from him even though Kurt showed no indication that he’d heard. He knew that Kurt was grateful for their concern and protection but he also guessed that there was a part of Kurt that felt a little humiliated about needing it, as well as the inconvenience that he might be causing them.

“Hey, I can do all your afternoons if you like,” Puck said. “I really don’t mind.”

“Do you want me to take your mornings then?” Mike asked, and Puck shook his head, ignoring the fact that Kurt was, yet again, looking at him with puzzled eyes.

“Nah, it’s cool,” he said. “Like I said, I don’t mind.”

Thankfully, because Kurt was still gazing at him, the bell went at that moment and they all got up, ditched their trays and headed to class.

All the effort of figuring things out had Puck dozing through most of his final class but he was fully alert when he met Kurt outside his classroom after the final bell, and that was a good thing because Kurt was still eyeing him suspiciously even as Finn approached them.

“Uh, hey,” Finn said, nodding at them both. He frowned at Puck. “Where’s Mike?”

“Oh, we swapped,” Puck said, watching Finn carefully. For a moment there was a brief flicker of confusion but no annoyance so that seemed like a good thing. Although with Finn, you never really knew.

“Mike was supposed to drive us home,” Kurt said.

“That’s cool, dude,” Puck said. “I’ve got my truck.”

“That thing’s still running?” Finn asked as they headed out the door but it sounded good-natured and he was smiling. Puck knew that his returning smile was tinged with relief.

“Yeah, she’s good,” he replied. “Might be a bit squishy though with three of us.”

And squishy it was because Finn’s legs always did take up a fair amount of space and Kurt’s recent growth spurt made the space even tighter. Kurt grumbled a little about being squashed between Puck and Finn, and Puck found himself grinning when Finn rolled his eyes at him over the top of Kurt’s head.

He took his time starting the engine, keeping one eye out for Karofsky, whose car was parked nearby. As soon as he saw Karofsky approaching, Puck gunned it and peeled out of the parking lot, smirking and waving at Karofsky as they passed him.

Kurt was pressed up against his side so he could feel when Kurt’s body tensed up and he felt as well as heard the small gasp Kurt made. Finn was already on the phone; involved in what appeared to be yet another argument with Rachel so he seemed oblivious.

“What are you up to, Puckerman?”

The quiet question startled him for a second but he’d always had a talent for quick recovery. _In more ways than one_ , he thought with smug amusement.

“Huh?” He replied, feigning confusion.

“You’re up to something,” Kurt’s voice was suspicious and when Puck glanced at him, he looked irritated.

“And what would I be up to, Hummel?” Puck asked.

“Why did you swap with Mike? Surely you have better things to do than spend extra time guarding me. This isn’t community service you know.”

“Hey, I finished that,” Puck said shortly, resentfully. “And as I told Mike. I don’t mind helpin’ extra.”

There was a long moment of silence. Puck was still annoyed and Kurt fidgeted with the strap of the bag he always carried around. Finally Kurt sighed.

“I’m sorry, okay,” he said in a soft voice. “I do appreciate it. I guess I’m just still on edge… and I thought…”

“You thought what?”

After another long moment Kurt finally mumbled something that sounded like ‘Nothing’. Puck let it go. After all, he didn’t want Kurt getting suspicious anyway, not yet at least, so if he could derail his curiosity for now then that was a good thing.

It wasn’t until they pulled into the driveway of the Hummel-Hudson’s new house that Finn finally got off the phone and looked at Puck.

“You wanna come in for a while?” he asked. “We haven’t had a Call of Duty run for ages.”

Puck grinned, grateful that Finn seemed to have either forgotten or forgiven exactly why they hadn’t had that run.

“God, will one of you let me out?” Kurt complained, shifting in his seat, and Puck got out quickly, watching as Kurt slid out after him. That growth spurt he’d had, had made a lot of changes, all of them good, and now that he’d noticed Puck could easily figure why a gay dude like Karofsky would be interested. For a moment he wondered if Kurt would have returned that interest under different circumstances. If Karofsky had been out and proud, would he have been Kurt’s type? Puck was pretty sure that Kurt had harboured a crush on Finn the previous year, so was Kurt’s type someone like Finn? Or could he go for someone like Puck?

He shook himself out of it and followed Finn into the house. Kurt had already disappeared.

It was the first time Puck had been in the new house and he liked the way it already felt like a home. The two families had obviously finally merged successfully and that was even more apparent when they had dinner. Carole had seemed both confused and pleased to see him there so he figured that she must be glad that he and Finn appeared to be patching up their friendship. Of course that involved a lot of listening to Finn talk about his problems with Rachel rather than playing Call of Duty but Puck really didn’t mind. It was just good to be with Finn again, he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed him.

As for the Hummel side of things, the few times he’d met Kurt’s Dad he’d really liked him and he knew that Finn really looked up to Mr. Hummel. In fact the only thing that seemed weird and unreal was finding himself sharing a meal with Kurt Hummel in his own home. That was something Puck had never thought that he would ever do in a million years and he guessed, from Kurt’s bemused expression, that Kurt was probably thinking the same thing.

He enjoyed it though and that thought bolstered him through the idea of what he was going to do the next morning.

It was fairly easy to get Karofsky alone the next day – all he had to do was get to the school early and wait in his truck until Karofsky parked nearby. He opened his door as Karofsky walked closer and called out to him.

“Hey dude, hop in for a moment. Let’s have a chat.”

Karofsky glared at him suspiciously. “I don’t think so, Puckerman. I’ve got nothing to say to a Glee loser.”

“Yeah, you should shut up about that,” Puck replied. “No one here has forgotten that you were a loser puckhead last season. And it wouldn’t be so hard to put you back there.”

“You threatening me, Puck?”

“Not yet,” Puck smirked at him and Karofsky looked nervous. It was good to know Puck still had the intimidation factor working for him. After all, Karofsky might be bigger, but Puck had his extensive Fight Club experience behind him. It seemed that Karofsky had remembered that.

“Just get in the car,” he continued. “I only want to talk to you.”

Karofsky finally climbed in and Puck closed his door, enclosing them in a tense silence. Puck took a deep breath. This was it - there was no going back now.

“So? What do you want?”

“Well, I thought I’d start with a polite request. And that would be for you to leave my boy, Kurt, the fuck alone.”

“ _Your_ boy?”

And oh, it wasn’t lost on Puck that Karofsky had immediately jumped to that.

“What I said, Karofsky. See, there’s something that a lot of people here don’t know about me and that’s because I wanted it that way.”

“If you’re trying to tell me you’re gay, Puckerman, I don’t believe it for a second.”

“So you’ve never heard of bisexuality? Well now you have. No limits, Karofsky, that’s what I like. Girls, dudes, it’s all getting off to me. Or getting them off,” he couldn’t resist adding because Karofsky was blushing as red as a fire engine. “I was never gonna bother letting it out in this shithole of a school but I’ve changed my mind. I’m about to come out in a big way and I’m calling dibs on Kurt. So back off.”

And now Karofsky looked furious. He was still red and Puck considered that it really wasn’t a good look for him.

“What the fuck, Puckerman? What makes you think I give a shit? I’m no fag.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Puck said, waving away the offensive word. “Look, I’m a sex shark, Karofsky. I know when someone’s gagging for it and you, my friend, are gagging for Kurt Hummel’s ass. I don’t blame you; it’s a pretty fine ass. But the dude don’t like you, Karofsky, so back off and stop hassling him.”

“You shouldn’t believe what that little fairy tells you, Puckerman.”

“He didn’t tell me anything,” Puck said firmly. “I told _you._ I see these things and when I’m noticing him myself it makes it pretty obvious when someone else is. You should be more careful if you’re not ready to come out, you know. In fact the best thing would be for you to keep away from him altogether. You know what they say. Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Yeah, and _you’re_ out of your mind if you think I’ve gone homo, Puckerman.”

“Oh, clever,” Puck said, sarcastically. “I don’t care what you think you are, Karofsky. Just stay away from Kurt.”

“You know, I wonder what the rest of the team will think about you going queer, Puckerman?”

Puck shook his head. “Yeah, now you’re not so clever. I just told you, I’m about to make that very clear. You try to make trouble for me? I’ll make trouble for you. Even being in Glee I’ve still got more pull at this school than you, Karofsky, and I bet you I can make being bi or gay as popular as being on the football team.”

Karofsky snorted and Puck couldn’t blame him. He had no idea whether the claim he’d just made was true but sometimes you just had to go with bravado and hope for the best. He’d learnt that lesson real quick in juvie.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m out of here.”

Karofsky opened the door and got out of Puck’s truck. Before he could close the door, Puck leaned towards him and gripped the front of his letterman.

“Just remember what I said about Kurt.”

“Fuck off.”

Karofsky pulled away and slammed the door. Puck watched him go and cracked his knuckles.

It looked like Karofsky wasn’t going to go away as easily as he’d hoped.


	4. Chapter 4

“It’s just not right, Kurt. I admitted what really happened with Jesse ages ago and Finn could have told me the truth about Santana then. And on top of all that…”

Kurt had to admit that he was only half listening to Rachel complain about Finn. He was still getting used to the fact that they seemed to be developing a close friendship, that they were even singing duets _together_ , rather than in competition with each other.

Still, he was starting to really like her. He’d really appreciated the way she’d been the only one to actually see how truly lonely he’d felt when they’d had the Duets assignment, and again, she’d been the only one to force the others to really _see_ what was happening with Karofsky. There was a part of him that would never really be able to be truly close with Tina again because he’d always remember the way she’d actually been there for some of the incidents and the way her eyes had seemed to close off when she’d looked at him afterwards. As if she didn’t want to see it because then she’d feel like she had to do something. And she didn’t want to get involved.

So, even though Rachel was telling him things about his new brother that he really didn’t want to know, Kurt forced himself to pay attention. It was hard though, because his thoughts kept settling on Puck, and trying to figure out what he might be up to. Because he _was_ up to something, Kurt just knew it.

That business of swapping with Mike, and then Kurt had seen the expression on his face when they’d driven past Karofsky. Something was going on and Kurt really wanted to know what it was before it ended up getting him into even more strife with Karofsky. He just wasn’t sure how to go about finding out.

Because, after all, he and Puck really didn’t know each other that well. Even after Puck had stopped throwing him in dumpsters they hadn’t actually spent much time together. They’d occasionally laughed together about something in glee club and that was about the extent of their relationship. Kurt had certainly never expected to see Puck sitting at his dining table and it had been quite a surprise to find that someone he’d mostly thought of as a good-looking Neanderthal actually had good table manners.

He was still pondering over that, whilst unlocking his locker, when the tenor of Rachel’s voice suddenly changed from irate to breathy eagerness.

“Hello, Noah. How are you today?”

Kurt looked up and, even with the warning, was surprised to find the object of his thoughts standing next to them. It certainly wasn’t Puck’s morning to be ‘guarding’ Kurt so he had no real reason to be there and somehow the thought of that made Kurt flush a little. And really, that was most annoying.

Puck nodded at them. “S’up?” His eyes settled on Kurt. “I thought I’d walk you to class.”

“Well, thank you, Noah,” Rachel practically gushed, and both Puck and Kurt gave her a confused look. “That would be lovely.”

“Yeah, I meant Kurt.”

“Oh,” Rachel blinked. “But I’m his escort on Friday mornings. We have class together.”

“Well, I guess I’ll walk with both of you then,” Puck replied, but he was still only looking at Kurt, and Kurt was finding that sort of… disturbing.

“Actually, Noah,” Rachel said as they started walking. “I was wondering if we could meet up later. Maybe after school. I wanted to talk to you about a duet.”

“What’s the point of that, Rachel?” Puck asked. “Sam and Quinn have the duet. I think it’s probably a bit late to change Mr. Schue’s mind now. He did seem pretty determined to have them sing.”

“Well, there is still until tomorrow,” Rachel replied. She was flushing and looking uncomfortable and Kurt couldn’t help eyeing her suspiciously. Now it seemed as if _she_ was up to something else as well and he only hoped that it had nothing to do with him.

“Well, I’m on Kurt’s guard thing anyway.”

“But after?” Rachel asked eagerly.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Puck sounded thoroughly unenthusiastic and when Kurt looked at him, he rolled his eyes at Kurt and smirked. Kurt found himself returning the look with a smile… because everyone in glee club knew how persistent Rachel was and that it was usually easier to just give in.

They reached the door of their classroom and Puck sauntered off. Kurt thought of asking Rachel if she thought it was strange that Puck had turned up like that but she was looking preoccupied and when he heard her muttering something about ‘making him pay’, he decided it was probably best if he just left her to her own thoughts.

But the odd thing was that when he got out of class and found Artie and Brittany waiting to walk with him to his next class, Puck was there with them. He offered no explanation, just walked beside Kurt and joked around with Artie but when Karofsky was suddenly right there in the hallway walking towards them, Kurt could have sworn that Puck somehow seemed to crowd nearer to him.

Karofsky strode past them and his glare was definitely directed at Puck rather than Kurt. It was a nice reprieve but it also made Kurt distinctly nervous because that, more than anything else, told him that Puck was not only up to something, but that he’d already started whatever it was.

Kurt had always prided himself on his quick wit and observation skills so the fact that Puck had obviously hatched a plan and Kurt had no idea what it was, was, quite frankly, infuriating. Not to mention potentially disastrous.

Puck continued turning up at his classes all day and he sat beside Kurt again at lunch, and again at glee, but Kurt didn’t get a chance to ask him what the hell he was doing because there was always someone else around. It was Puck and Sam who walked him to his car as Finn had driven himself that day, probably hoping to sort out something with Rachel and then go on a date.

When he got home Finn was already there and Kurt remembered that Puck had probably gone over to Rachel’s house. He wondered if he should mention it to Finn but Finn wasn’t exactly in the mood to talk and Kurt decided it was none of his business anyway. He was, quite simply, sick of wondering about Puck’s activities.

The next morning they went in Finn’s car to the school and met everyone else at the bus for the ride to Sectionals. Everyone seemed subdued because of the bad feeling that seemed to have spread from Rachel, Finn and Santana. Even Artie, Brittany, Mike and Tina seemed embroiled in some sort of argument but Kurt actually felt quite good. He was in the background as usual but he was also quietly anticipating seeing Blaine and the Warblers perform again. It had been magical the first time. If they were like that again then New Directions could be in trouble.

Mercedes hadn’t arrived yet and Kurt was completely taken aback when Puck walked onto the bus and took Mercedes’ usual seat beside him.

“Hey,” he said, smirking at Kurt and for a moment Kurt was still too stunned to speak.

“Um, good morning Puck,” he finally managed to say.

“Listen, dude,” Puck said. “I thought it fair to warn you. There’s probably gonna be an even bigger blow-up between Finn and Rachel. She fooled me with that duet business. I got there and the stupid girl jumped me and planted a kiss on me. I told her I wasn’t down with doing that to Finn again and that she should really talk to him instead of acting up. But I don’t know what she’s gonna do next, you know. She’s obviously more unhinged than usual at the moment.”

Again Kurt was speechless. For many, many reasons. First, that Puck was telling him, _Kurt_ , all this. Second that Rachel had acted so foolishly. Followed by the fact that Puck had turned her down.

“Uh… okay… thanks for telling me,” he finally managed to say. “But … um… don’t call me dude,” he added, trying to get himself back to his usual level of communication with Puck.

He expected Puck to move when Mercedes got on the bus but instead he got out his phone and Mercedes went and sat with Tina after sharing a very confused look with Kurt.

And then Puck spent the entire trip showing Kurt cat videos on his phone, which turned out to be the most fun Kurt had ever had on the ride to Sectionals.

When they got to the auditorium Kurt kept an eye out for Blaine. The mass of Dalton blazers was easy to spot and Kurt scanned them eagerly. He was still standing near Sam and Quinn when he felt a touch on his elbow and turned to find Blaine standing behind him.

“I was waiting for you,” Blaine grinned. “I didn’t know if we’d really get a chance to talk later so I wanted to wish you good luck.”

“Within reason, of course,” he added, with another grin.

Kurt laughed and gave Blaine a quick hug. Sam and Quinn were watching them curiously.

“Fraternizing with the enemy, Kurt?” Quinn asked, with a lifted brow, but it sounded good-natured so Kurt introduced them.

“He’s a good friend of mine actually,” he said. “Blaine, these two are Quinn and Sam. You’ll hear them sing a trophy-winning duet later on.”

“Hi,” Quinn said, with a smile, but Blaine appeared to be staring at Sam in a daze. Kurt frowned, puzzled, but a moment later Blaine seemed to pull himself together.

“Hi, uh, Quinn. And Sam,” he said, and gave Kurt a strange look. “Sam Evans?”

“Yeah,” Kurt said slowly. “He’s fairly new to the glee club but he’s a great singer.”

“Aw thanks, Kurt,” Sam said, giving Kurt a shy smile. “I have to say, I’m really glad I ended up joining.”

He gave Quinn a besotted look and they walked off hand-in-hand. Kurt let out a soft sigh as he watched them. That might have been him if his gaydar actually worked and he’d been right about Sam.

“Kurt,” Blaine’s voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned to him with concern because he sounded anxious. “Who’s that guy talking with Mercedes? The one with the mo-hawk.”

“Oh, that’s Puck,” Kurt said, after a quick look. “Don’t worry about him. He might look like a Neanderthal jock but he’s actually turning out okay. I flatter myself that it’s my civilizing influence,” he added, with what he hoped was a reassuring laugh because Blaine still looked… strange.

“Noah Puckerman? Yeah, I’ve heard of him from Fight… ahem… well, I’m not actually supposed to say that.”

Kurt blinked in confusion as Blaine continued to stare at Puck. Eventually Puck must have sensed them watching him because he looked up and smirked. His eyes seemed to meet Blaine’s and the smirk widened. Then he nodded at them and wandered off in the direction of the dressing rooms.

“Huh,” Kurt huffed. Really, Puck was getting stranger by the minute. He looked at Blaine who seemed shocked and pale. A discomforting thought crossed his mind.

“Ah, I feel I should tell you, he’s absolutely straight,” he said gently. “I mean he’s probably slept with more women by now than most people do in their lifetime.”

“What?” Blaine seemed to come out of his daze with a shake of his head. “No, that’s not… I mean, um… really I’m just getting a bit nervous that’s all. This is my first competition solo with the Warblers.”

Kurt patted his shoulder because he really did look as if he might throw up.

“I know you’ll be great,” he said. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. Look, I really should get going. I still have to get changed.”

Blaine nodded and Kurt started to walk away but Blaine’s voice calling out halted him.

“Hey, Kurt. That Puck guy. He’s okay, right? I mean, he’s good with you?”

Kurt blinked. “Yeah, he is now. Lately, he’s been kind of looking out for me too. More than the others.” He didn’t add that Puck’s recent behaviour was kind of confusing and disturbing. He still had no clue what Puck was up to.

“Oh, good. Great,” Blaine said, and then with a wave he trotted towards the sea of Dalton blazers.

Kurt shrugged and headed for the dressing rooms. A few minutes later he wished he hadn’t because the atmosphere was dreadful. There was tension and a lot of heated whispering going on and the only people who didn’t seem to be involved were Quinn, Sam, Puck and himself. They rolled their eyes at each other and quickly headed for their seats in the auditorium and, once again, Kurt found himself seated next to Puck. He was starting to feel as if Puck was a new appendage, permanently attached to his side… and he really didn’t know what to think of that.

The Hipsters were pretty good and seemed to have an odd effect on Puck that made Kurt look at him quizzically. Puck met his eyes and just seemed to sigh soulfully, and then suddenly the Warblers were on stage.

They were amazing. For a moment Kurt imagined himself up there with them… and he could have been if his Dad and Carole had been able to send him to Dalton. It was almost surreal watching them with that knowledge in the back of his mind but, in the end, even though Karofsky was still a problem, Kurt had to feel that his place was with New Directions. He belonged with them.

The Warblers _were_ a threat though and even after New Directions had managed to get themselves together and perform - and the revelation that was Santana had earned them their own standing ovation - Kurt knew that the competition still hung in the balance. The tie with the Warbler’s felt like a stay of execution. They would still have to face them at Regionals… but hopefully by then they’d be better prepared.

The atmosphere on the bus ride home was still subdued – they’d won, but not completely – but at least it felt more positive. Most of the others seemed to have resolved their issues and Finn and Rachel were giving each other shy looks that hopefully meant they’d actually be talking to each other soon.

Kurt had sat with Mercedes for the ride home but somehow once they got back to McKinley he found himself being herded towards Puck’s truck.

“Uh… I came with Finn,” he pointed out but Puck just smiled.

“I have a feeling he wants to try to talk to Rachel,” he said, and Kurt looked over his shoulder to see Finn hovering near her. “You’d be totally in the way. I can take you home. No probs.”

“Okaaay,” Kurt agreed slowly. It was more odd behaviour from Puck, but at least he might have the chance now of finding out what exactly was going on.

He was still trying to figure out how to do that when he noticed that Puck had missed the turn for the most direct route to the Hummel-Hudson house.

“Where are we going?” Kurt asked quickly. He could hear his voice was higher than normal with anxiety but really, he wasn’t so comfortable with Puck that he was happy to let Puck drive him somewhere unknown.

Puck glanced over at him. “Hey,” he said softly. “It’s okay. I was just hungry, and I figured you would be too. I thought we could go to Breadstix. I should’ve said something, I’m sorry.”

Kurt felt like he might actually faint. Not only was Noah Puckerman apologizing to him but he was also happily driving them off to the local high school dating hangout to have dinner. Alone.

Before he could figure out anything to say they’d arrived at Breadstix and Puck was parking.

“So, it’s okay?” Puck asked still in that soft voice that Kurt was sure was meant to be reassuring, and luckily for Puck, it was. “I mean, you are hungry, aren’t you? We may as well eat.”

Kurt nodded and got out of the car. He sent a quick text to his Dad letting him know where he was, still wondering if he was doing the right thing. And still wondering, yet again, just what exactly Puck was up to.

The weirdness continued inside when, instead of heading for the darkest corner available, Puck led them to one of the booths right in the middle of the restaurant. Kurt saw him looking around confidently and when he spotted a couple of members of the football team sitting at another table with some cheerleaders, he actually waved at them.

Kurt sat down opposite and frowned at Puck.

“Anything wrong?” Puck asked.

“I still want to know what you think you’re doing,” Kurt replied, firmly.

Puck shrugged. “What’s the problem? I’m just having a meal with someone I like.”

Kurt could feel his face starting to flush and he tried vainly to suppress it.

“It’s just…” he faltered. “Look, I… um… appreciate the sentiment that we are now friends but I suppose that, as your friend, I have to say this isn’t going to do you any favors.”

He sent a meaningful glance over to the table of McKInley students who were either kind of glaring at them or looking completely bewildered. Puck followed his gaze and shrugged again.

“Dude, relax. I can handle them or anyone else who thinks they have a problem with it.”

 _Oh can you_ , ‘ _dude? **’**_ , Kurt thought, not without some resentment, _because you certainly couldn’t handle ‘it’ last year, whatever ‘it’ actually is._

“Well, I just hope you’ve thought through whatever it is you’re doing very thoroughly,” was all he ended up saying and Puck grinned at him.

“Whatever, dude.”

“And how many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me dude,” Kurt demanded, his exasperation finally getting the better of him.

“Well, I suppose I could call you Princess or something,” Puck offered, still grinning.

Kurt glared at him.

“Call me that and I’ll shove a glittery pink wand right up your butt,” he said.

“Kinky,” Puck said. “And slightly… disturbing.”

 _And why would that be?_ , Kurt thought snidely, _because of the glittery wand… or because you don’t want anything getting near your ass?_

But the odd thing was Puck had sounded slightly flirtatious. Not that Kurt was experienced enough to be completely sure about that. It still made his face flush again though so it was a lucky thing that the waitress turned up at that moment to take their order.

It was an odd feeling to be at Breadstix with only one other person, as if it was a date. Kurt had only ever been there with his family or with a bunch of the glee clubbers and he found himself feeling a little tongue-tied as he stared across the table at Puck.

Puck returned his gaze quite openly and a part of Kurt noted how warm Puck’s brown eyes could seem. Those eyes made the heat start in his stomach that could only mean one thing and Kurt, horrified at himself, firmly squashed it.

What on earth was he doing? So, one good-looking guy (and he had to admit Puck _was_ very attractive) looked at him nicely and he was a lost cause? He _really_ had to stop getting attracted to straight guys.

He managed to draw his gaze away from Puck just as a couple of the footballers approached their table.

“Hey Puck,” one of them said, completely ignoring Kurt. “What are you doing?”

Puck looked up at them, raised one eyebrow and smirked. “Isn’t it obvious, Strando? I’m having dinner with my boy here, Kurt.”

Both footballers finally looked over at Kurt, their eyes cold.

“Your boy?” the one Puck had called Strando sneered. “Seems like juvie might have changed you, Puck.”

Puck slowly stood up and made an obvious show of cracking his knuckles. Kurt winced; he’d always hated that sound.

“Oh, I learnt a lot in juvie,” Puck said, pleasantly and somehow, Kurt thought, that made him actually sound more menacing.

“If you turn up to the _club_ next week, you can find out exactly how much I learnt,” he added, with a significant look that was lost on Kurt but didn’t seem to be lost on either footballer, as they both took a step backwards.

Puck grinned at them.

“Relax, guys,” he said, taking his seat again. “The world is changing. It’s about time you dudes realized that before you get left way behind. Yep, the world is changing and I, for one, am all about embracing the good things the world can offer. I got nothing to be afraid of. Especially you guys. So how about you go back and enjoy your food and leave us here to enjoy ours.”

He nodded at the waitress as she negotiated her way through the group and placed their plates on the table. She glanced at the two footballers still standing close, her expression wry.

“Your food’s getting cold, boys,” she said, and the footballers finally shrugged, gave Puck another confused look, and wandered back to their table.

Kurt was numb, and yet again speechless, as Puck started to eat enthusiastically. He picked up his fork, still trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. He was sure he must be imagining it but it had seemed as if Puck was implying that he was there on a _date_ with Kurt.

Before he got a chance to say anything though, Puck spoke.

“You know, personally I liked those old dudes much better than those Gargler’s but I suppose now we have to concentrate on beating _them_ at Regionals. What did you think of them?”

“Oh, I thought they were great,” Kurt replied, pushing all of his other questions out of his mind for the time being. He had a feeling that Puck wasn’t going to answer anything, even if Kurt managed to ask any of them. “Santana was amazing but, whilst Sam and Quinn were sweet, the duet was weak. I can’t believe I’m saying this but we might have had a clear win if we’d used Rachel and Finn.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Puck responded thoughtfully. “But a Mercedes and Artie duet would have been just as strong. Or you and Rachel. Mercedes showed me a clip of that duet you did whilst I was in juvie. I thought it was great… and I gotta say, I wish I hadn’t missed your performance of that Jazzy song.”

Kurt blushed. “Le Jazz Hot,” he said. “Um… yeah. I really enjoyed doing that song.”

“Yeah,” Puck said, and again he sounded thoughtful. “I heard the cheerleaders enjoyed the chance to do something like that too. You know, they’re sorta on your side, especially after you helped them win Nationals last year. We should take advantage of that.”

“We?” Kurt practically squeaked.

Puck just winked at him and then changed the subject. They spent the rest of the meal talking about the convoluted relationships of the glee club, computer games, and music. It was very strange for Kurt to realize that they actually had some similar interests.

They were still talking and laughing over Puck’s numerous attempts to mash up a jazz song with a punk rock song when Puck pulled into the Hudson-Hummel driveway.

“Well, thanks Puck,” Kurt said, reaching for the door handle. “I have to admit this was a strangely enjoyable evening.”

A soft touch on his arm halted him and he turned to face Puck, who was watching him with what was, he could see in the dim dash light, a serious look on his face.

“Hey, there’s something I kinda have to talk to you about,” he said.

Kurt blinked and resettled into his seat.

“Okay,” he prompted when Puck just continued to stare at him in a rather unsettling way.

Finally Puck looked away and Kurt heard him sigh.

“Yeah, so I guess that I should tell you that your little Gargler friend and I had a chat the other day.”

Kurt blinked again because that was just… surprising… in many different ways.

“I’m assuming you mean Blaine?”

“Yeah,” Puck replied. “Look, he told me about the deal with Karofsky. You know, what happened in the locker room and all that, and the way that Karofsky’s still sending you texts.”

For a moment Kurt thought his heart had actually stopped beating and then it started up again and seemed to pound in his ears.

“He had no right to do that,” he finally said, in a voice choked with anger because he couldn’t believe that Blaine had done that. He’d _trusted_ him.

“Okay, I’ll be fair here,” Puck said. “He’s an idiot but he was just trying to help you. He was worried about you and for what it’s worth, I think he was right about someone else knowing what’s going on. I just wish that you’d told us before.”

Kurt sucked in a breath with a hiss. “Yeah, well, that’s not so easy when a short time ago half of you were throwing me into dumpsters and acting as if I was a contagious disease.”

There was a long moment of tense silence in which Kurt contemplated just getting out of the car, and then Puck shifted around in his seat to look at Kurt.

“Yeah, look, I’m sorry about that. I really am, and I guess I get that you weren’t comfortable talking to us… and I promise, I’m not gonna tell the others unless you say so.”

Puck sounded genuine in a way that Kurt had never heard before and he glanced over at him. Once again that serious look was on Puck’s face. It was a look that made Kurt feel strange in some way he couldn’t define and he quickly looked away.

“I don’t understand why Blaine told _you_ though,” he mumbled.

“Well, that’s the idiot part,” Puck said, and it sounded like he was holding back some laughter. “He actually thought I was Sam.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “He still had no right. And I’m still going to kill him.”

“Whatever,” Puck said, still sounding amused. “The thing is it’s done and I told him I’d help you. And I’m going to.”

And suddenly a whole lot of stuff made sense to Kurt and he turned to look at Puck with stunned disbelief.

“Oh. My. God,” he said. “You turning up all the time, the bus ride to Sectionals. And tonight at Breadstix. Puck, please tell me that you’re not intending to pretend that we’re in a… um, together. Please tell me that your help doesn’t include a fake relationship. No one will believe it… it’s crazy.”

In the dim light Kurt could see that Puck was frowning and he immediately regretted his impetuous speech. He’d been so surprised that he’d spoken without thinking and said things to Puck that even a month ago he wouldn’t have dreamed of saying. He could only hope that their new tentative friendship would mean that Puck would more easily forgive the fact that Kurt had just jumped to a conclusion that couldn’t possibly be true (despite what seemed like evidence that it was) and had implied that Puck was willing to have everyone think he was gay.

But when Puck finally spoke he surprised Kurt even more.

“So, I’m guessin’ that this date isn’t gonna end with a good night kiss then,” he said, and Kurt could have sworn he sounded as if he was sulking. And once again Kurt’s heart was pounding so hard that he wondered if Puck would hear it and the word ‘date’ was echoing in his ears. Still, it was ironic considering the way his first kiss had gone that he might have actually been on his first date without even knowing it.

“Um… _what?_ ” he finally managed to say in what was, he was proud to say, only a _slightly_ strangled voice. “Are you trying to make fun of me now?”

“Huh? No!” Puck replied quickly, and Kurt found himself staring in amazement at where Puck’s hand was suddenly gently resting on his knee. “I wouldn’t do that… but I just don’t get why you think it’s so unbelievable.”

He still sounded peeved but Kurt was having difficulty focussing on anything other than Puck’s hand. It was large and warm and covered his knee completely and for some reason Kurt could feel his face heating up in a blush… and he was really thankful for the dim light that meant Puck wouldn’t be able to see it.

“Puck,” he said. “You are straight. Your history… well, you are the straightest person I know. Why would _anyone_ think any different?”

“Why the fuck is it that nobody in this town has ever heard of bisexuality, especially the gay people?”

Kurt blinked.

“Um,” he faltered, his mind a mass of confusion. “Well. I guess… that could be… but, I mean, it’s still hard to believe in your case… but I suppose a lot of people go through a questioning time? I sometimes think that’s what bisexuality is, actually.”

Puck’s hand was suddenly gone from his knee.

“Yeah, well, I can’t believe you said that, dude. There are plenty of bisexual people in the world you know. People don’t have to be one thing or the other and I thought you’d know about that more than I would. I thought you’d understand.”

Kurt couldn’t contain it, a small hiccup of slightly hysterical laughter escaped him, because what he really couldn’t believe was that he was getting a speech about being more open-minded from an offended _Noah Puckerman_.

But still… Kurt had to acknowledge he felt a little ashamed because, deep down, he knew Puck was right. Although that still didn’t change the fact that Puck’s sudden apparent embracing of bisexuality did seem rather unbelievable. And it also didn’t change the fact that Puck pretending to be in a relationship with him was not, in any way, a good idea.

“Okay, you have a point about that so I’m sorry,” he said. “But Puck… this does seem to be coming out of nowhere and, I have to say, you’re really confusing me. However to get back to my original point – I really don’t see how you could come up with the idea you seem to have come up with. Besides being… um… unconvincing, I just don’t see how it would help the situation anyway.”

“Maybe that’s because you don’t know these guys the way I do. A little intimidation can work wonders in my experience and aside from that I still have pull at this school. If I decide that I’m gonna come out as bi then being bi or gay is gonna be cool and that’s that.”

Kurt sighed sadly. It really hurt to hear Puck make that statement so arrogantly and confidently. Because Kurt had been out as gay for almost a year now and it had never been ‘cool’ and it hadn’t been ‘cool’ even when it had been just an assumption that people had made about him. And one of those people that it hadn’t been cool with was Puck. Life just wasn’t fair in so many ways and one of those ways was that Puck was probably right. There was a good chance that if a star player from their now more successful football team came out then the school would embrace it… even if you didn’t factor in the fact that Puck was, well, Puck. Popular, even though he was in Glee, hot, and a reforming bad boy, still with a nice hint of danger surrounding him. It was an attractive mix, even if Kurt blushed to admit it.

“What you do is up to you, Puck,” Kurt said, wearily, and he really was so very tired. Blaine had let him down, the whole Karofsky thing was still hanging over his head, and now Puck had added his own complication. It made him feel strung out and it felt like his face was drawn into tight lines of tension.

“But it shouldn’t involve me,” he continued. “I do appreciate that you want to help but pretending to be something we’re not just isn’t the answer.”

“ _I_ didn’t say anything about pretending anything,” Puck said. “There’s nothing wrong with killing two birds with one stone.”

“Well these birds are dead already,” Kurt said, and he quickly opened the car door and got out before Puck could say anything more to completely bewilder him.

“I’m sorry, Puck,” he said, and even as he said it he wondered why he was apologizing. “I’m glad we’ve become friends, I really am. But I just don’t think you’ve thought this through very well. I don’t think…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. Somehow he couldn’t. Without looking at Puck he shut the door and walked swiftly up the path to the front door and let himself in.


	5. Chapter 5

Puck watched Kurt disappear into the house and sighed.

Yeah, he’d fucked that up. Moved too fast and taken Kurt completely unawares.

It was all that fucking little hobbity gurgling Gargler’s fault. Puck had taken his measure quickly and he’d known that as soon as the kid realized what a mistake he’d made, that he’d be too much of an idiot to tell the truth to Kurt. Instead he’d try to bluff it through and Kurt was clever, he’d figure out the Blaine kid was hiding something from him in no time, and in no time he’d get it out of him. So, Puck had felt that he had to get in there with the truth real quick. Unfortunately it had backfired, because now Kurt seemed to think that Puck was trying to _pretend_ to be his boyfriend.

And that just wasn’t the case, not when he was feeling so disappointed that he hadn’t had the chance to give in to the sudden urgent desire he’d had to kiss Kurt. It might have gone better if he had but he hadn’t wanted to plant one on him, unannounced, in the same way that Karofsky had.

It was odd how once he’d let the walls down it had taken off so quickly. Somehow it had been easier to ignore Kurt’s attractions when he’d also been ignoring that side of himself. There had always been so many women available to distract him from the fact that sometimes he thought about guys in the same way he thought about girls.

But now that he was letting himself focus on Kurt, well, it was getting harder to ignore the fact that his boy was damn hot… and when they’d been at Breadstix he hadn’t liked the feeling it had given him to see someone like Kurt acting as if Puck should be uncomfortable or afraid to be seen alone with him. That was just wrong and it had made him want to prove to Kurt just how wrong he was.

It was funny how Strando was right though. Juvie _had_ changed him, in so many ways, and this was one of them. Once he’d come to accept that he’d been on the wrong path, had accepted that he really wanted to change, graduate from school and actually have a future, that maybe his impossible dream of flying wasn’t so impossible after all - once he’d accepted all of that, accepting that side of himself that wanted to do guys hadn’t actually been all that hard.

He’d never intended to act on it in high school though, and particularly not McKinley. He knew how hard it could be at McKinley. After all he’d once been one of those dishing it out and he was still ashamed of that. The person he was now, the person he was becoming, couldn’t quite believe that he’d once locked Artie into a Porta Potty. So, he’d figured that he could wait until he was out of Lima before he got into any experimentation.

That had changed when he’d heard what the Gargler’d had to say. And that had led him to this point where all he’d really been able to think about since he’d walked into Breadstix with Kurt was how it would feel to kiss him… and get a hand into those tight pants he wore so well.

But aside from that, he knew that he was a big part of the reason that McKinley was unsafe for Kurt and others like him. The bullying of Kurt from the popular section of the student body was a big reason why so much homophobia had festered in the school. Kurt had borne the brunt of it but Puck knew that there had to be other kids at McKinley who would never come out with the current atmosphere in the school. Puck, himself, had never planned on trying but now that he could probably use some of the popularity he still had to try to turn things around and make the school safer for everybody, well, it might seem sudden, but he really wanted to do it.

Although he’d probably take some crap for it, that was for sure. It didn’t matter though because he knew that he’d been no better than Karofsky in a way. He’d taken his inability to accept himself out on Kurt and anyone else that had gotten in his way. And it left a bitter taste in his mouth that he’d been no better than Karofsky in other ways as well because he couldn’t ignore the fact that he’d probably been attracted to Kurt before and he’d buried it deep and dealt with it by tossing Kurt into dumpsters. So, now he’d allowed that attraction to develop but a big part of him also wanted to make amends for what he’d done in the past.

Ah well. Puck sighed and started his truck, pulled out of the driveway and headed for home. It looked like he wasn’t going to get to do either of those things anytime soon - kiss Kurt or make amends - and in the meantime he still had to deal with Karofsky.

He slept late the next morning and later he headed for the mall. Christmas was coming up fast and there was gift shopping to be done for his Ma and his sister but deep down he also kind of hoped that he might run into Kurt there.

He didn’t though and the rest of the evening he found himself wondering and anticipating what would happen when he saw Kurt next. Not to mention Karofsky.

He saw Kurt first, but he’d expected that, as he’d been ‘rostered’ to meet Finn and Kurt in the parking lot. Finn looked relatively happy so Puck figured that Rachel hadn’t confessed what she’d been up to yet. He had to admit, as much as he thought she should, he wasn’t looking forward to it and he really hoped that Finn wouldn’t end up blaming him for it, particularly when they’d just started to be friends again.

Kurt blushed when he saw Puck and that made Puck really wish that he’d gotten that kiss the other night. As it was he couldn’t resist smirking and Kurt’s blush only deepened. Still, he was looking a little squirrelly so Puck dialled it back a bit and took his place on one side of Kurt without saying anything. When Finn lumbered slightly ahead he took the opportunity to move a little closer to Kurt.

“So, did you talk to Blaine?” he asked in a low voice.

Kurt’s color went up again but when he spoke his voice was steady. “Not yet. I thought I should calm down a bit first.”

Puck snorted softly and Kurt shot him a quick glance. He was wearing a pale blue sweater under his dark blue coat and it made his eyes glow. Puck’s gaze drifted over him, noting the tight black and grey striped pants and the knee-high boots that made Kurt’s legs look deliciously long. He really was something that was for sure.

“What have you got there?” Puck asked, nodding at the brown paper bag Kurt was carrying.

“Choc chip cookies for glee club,” Kurt replied.

And Puck knew exactly why Kurt kept making them cookies.

“You don’t have to keep thanking us, you know,” he said quietly. “But if you want to keep up with the bribes, I’ll take kisses over cookies anytime.”

He was smirking again and it turned into a full grin when Kurt shot him an exasperated look.

Puck shrugged. “Hey, you know that when you get out of Lima the guys are gonna be lining up to flirt with you. I’m just providing you with practice.”

The corner of Kurt’s mouth twitched but he was still glaring at Puck.

“I never thought I’d find myself in the strange position of thanking you for a compliment, Puck, but thank you, I guess,” he said.

“Well, I got plenty more where that came from,” Puck replied with a wink and suddenly Kurt stopped dead in his tracks.

“Okay, this has to stop,” he said, and that blush was coming up in his face again. Puck was getting rather attached to that blush.

“We talked about this,” Kurt continued, practically whispering. “I appreciate that you want to help but pretending that we are… _something_ … is just not going to work.”

“Again, I never said anything about pretending anything,” Puck replied, and before Kurt could interrupt he continued quickly. “And it’s too late anyway.”

“ _What?”_ Kurt hissed, and the blush was gone now. Instead he seemed too pale and Puck felt a bit bad about causing that.

“We were seen at Breadstix the other night, Kurt, and those guys are gonna jump to conclusions. I’m not going to deny anything. Besides that, Karofsky already knows I’m interested.”

“ _What?_ ” Kurt said again, but this time it wasn’t a whisper, it was more of a breathless gasp and Puck could clearly hear the panic underneath it. “You _talked_ to him?”

“Nothing about what’s happened with you and him, I swear,” Puck said quickly. “I wouldn’t do that. We just had a … um… frank discussion about my sexuality and I let him know that I was interested in you.”

“Oh.My.God,” Kurt breathed, his eyes going really wide. “Did you get some sort of head injury in juvie or have you just gone _completely insane_?”

And, oh hey, there was the snarky Kurt he knew and loved so that was reassuring but it wasn’t exactly flattering either.

“You know accusing people who show an interest in you of insanity isn’t gonna get you laid too often,” Puck replied. “So, you might want to rethink that approach.”

Kurt stared at him with his mouth slightly open and Puck felt a little proud that he’d obviously rendered him speechless. But at the same time the sight of Kurt’s soft lips parted like that just made him want to dive right in there and he was pretty sure this wasn’t really the right moment for that.

“Hey, you two coming or what?”

It was Finn, and Puck was kind of grateful for the interruption until he realized that Finn was watching him with narrowed eyes. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Finn wasn’t always as oblivious as he looked and Puck wasn’t at all surprised when, after they’d handed Kurt off to Mercedes, Artie and Tina, he found himself being guided into the empty astronomy room.

“Oh, I am _not_ making out with you,” Puck couldn’t resist saying, and Finn snorted.

“Yeah, I want you to explain to me why I now have this strange feeling that you wouldn’t be saying that if I was Kurt. Tell me I’m wrong, Puck, please.”

Puck swallowed heavily as he tried to take the measure of the look in Finn’s eyes. There was confusion there, certainly, but there was anger there as well. Puck couldn’t figure out the reason for it and it made this moment even more nerve-wracking… or that was what the tight sick feeling in his stomach was telling him anyway.

Because this was the moment of no return, he knew that. When he’d told Karofsky, he’d known that it wasn’t really going to go anywhere. Karofsky might threaten to tell everyone but he didn’t really have the balls to do it. As for the dinner at Breadstix, well, Puck knew that he could find a way to explain that if he had to.

But this was Finn. He wasn’t going to lie to him, not ever again, and besides, he didn’t want to lie anyway. Still, there was a part of him that just wanted to run and continue to hide behind his perfect record of straightness.

“Why do you want to be wrong?” It was a stall, he knew it and he could see that Finn knew it too… and that he wasn’t fooled either.

“Because Kurt’s got enough going on as it is without adding dealing with you into the mix. The last thing he needs is someone else trying to make fun of him for being gay even if you’re just fooling around.”

“Jeez, dude, I’m not making fun of him, okay,” Puck said, not without resentment. “I _like_ him.”

Finn frowned. “You mean, you _like_ like him? I mean you don’t just _like_ him, you actually like _him_? In that _liking_ way?”

“What the hell, Finn?” Puck stared at him in amazement. “What does any of that even mean? Look,” he took a deep breath and steeled himself for whatever happened next, “I like guys as well as girls, dude, and yeah, I mean _like_ in the way I _think_ you mean _like_. I’ve always been like that but I just didn’t bother with the dude part of it all. Girls were easier, you know? But, the thing is, I like Kurt. I think I want to date him.”

There was a long moment of silence in which they stared at each other and then Finn blinked.

“Okay,” he said. “Okay. So, you’re saying you’re bisexual?”

And now it was Puck’s turn to blink as he really hadn’t thought that it would be Finn who would just so easily get it when the two gay guys he’d told had been the one’s who hadn’t.

“Huh,” he said. “Yeah. So, you know what that is?”

Finn snorted. “Of course I do, dude. You think after the mistakes I’ve made with Kurt that I wouldn’t educate myself? When I said I had his back at the wedding I meant it, so last week I did some research and learned a bit about sexuality and the gay community.”

“Really?” Puck couldn’t stop himself from smirking and Finn rolled his eyes.

“No,” he said. “That did not include watching porn.”

Puck laughed. He felt strangely light-headed and he figured it was relief over the fact that Finn had accepted the whole thing so easily.

“Still,” he said. “That was cool that you did that.”

“Yeah, well,” Finn replied. “I gotta say, nothing much surprises me anymore, particularly about you, but Kurt’s my brother now and I said I’d have his back. Which brings me to what I’m gonna say next. You better not be messing around about this, Puck. If you want to date Kurt, you better be sure about it because I sure as hell won’t sit back and watch you hurt him.”

And, Puck had to admit, brotherly concern was a good look on Finn but it was also fucking intimidating. Puck was a founder in Fight club but he had been on the receiving end of one of Finn’s fists before and he had no desire to experience it again, particularly when he knew he’d have to fight real dirty to beat him… and somehow you just didn’t do that with Finn.

“I’m sure about it,” he said, and the funny thing was that it was absolutely true. Now he just had to convince Kurt of it.

“Well, okay then,” Finn said. “And I promise I won’t tell anyone about this. About you. I mean, I guess people will notice if you do start dating Kurt but I’ll keep it quiet for as long as possible.”

Well that was certainly touching, Puck thought, but it also wouldn’t do at all. He took Finn’s arm, as the bell for class rang, and led him out into the hallway.

“Yeah, well, that’s the thing,” he began, and the odd thing was that it took longer to find a way to explain to Finn why he didn’t want it kept quiet than it had for Finn to accept the situation in the first place.

He must have got it through to him though because at first break he found Quinn and Santana waiting for him at his locker.

Neither of them looked that happy to see him. Quinn looked irritated but that didn’t bother him that much because she often did look irritated, particularly with him. Santana was harder to read. She was pale and her eyes seemed shuttered but she was shielding herself with her body language, hands on her hips and her head up defiantly. Puck steeled himself.

“So, Puckerman,” Santana started as soon as he was in range. “We’re hearing some strange little murmurings about how you’re considering stabling up with a certain prancing pony that we all know. I hadn’t pegged you for a Brony.”

Puck winced. Sometimes Santana was just _too_ offensive.

“Yeah, well, you don’t know everything,” he replied as mildly as he could. “So, maybe I wouldn’t mind dating Kurt but the most important thing is that I’m coming out as bi.”

“And why exactly would you do that, Puck?” Quinn asked. Her voice was soft but Puck could hear the steel underneath it.

“Because it’s true, Quinn,” he said. “And maybe it’s about time the queer presence in this school was more visible and more accepted. Don’t ya think?”

They couldn’t argue with that although Santana looked like maybe she wanted to. He met her eyes steadily and when she blushed and looked away he knew she wasn’t going to be following his example anytime soon. And that was fine, he knew that this was something that everyone had to choose their own time to deal with, but she was lucky that she was getting that choice. People like Kurt didn’t always get that option. Assumptions were easily made about them, whether true or not. So, if Santana wanted to shield herself a little longer that was fine by him… but he was kinda hoping for her support all the same.

“So, you’re not pulling some kind of weird stunt?” Quinn asked. “This is _really_ true?”

There was something in her voice and he thought it sounded a little like hurt… and honestly, he felt like talking with both of them was like navigating a minefield.

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “Look I’ve been owning up to a lot of stuff lately and this is just one of those things. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t gonna do anything about it until after high school, but the thing is – I do like Kurt. And the other thing is that I helped make this school suck, we all did before we joined glee,” he paused and gave them both a significant look. “Now I just want to do something about that and maybe coming out like this is the way to do it… and I think you guys could help. Of course that’s up to you.”

Santana looked a little freaked so Puck wasn’t surprised when it was Quinn who spoke again.

“How exactly do you think we could help?”

“You’re head cheerleader again, Quinn. The Cheerios have cred, particularly with the football team and meatheads like Karofsky. Kurt helped you guys win Nationals last year and I thought you guys liked him. Some of you helped him with that song a few weeks ago, didn’t you?”

Quinn nodded. “Yeah, some of the girls do miss having him on the team. They even asked him to rejoin this year. He said he wanted to focus on Glee but I think he didn’t approve of some of Coach Sylvester’s methods, to be honest.”

“So, maybe they’d like to see him with a boyfriend,” Puck prompted, and Santana snorted.

“I don’t know that they’d approve of that boyfriend being _you_ , Puckerman,” she said. “Remember, they _like_ Kurt. And they _know_ you.”

So, it seemed Santana already had her mojo back. He should have known it wouldn’t take long.

“I don’t know about that,” Quinn said thoughtfully. “Some of them are into fanfic and shipping. And I mean gay fanfic… a couple of them even write it. They could probably get behind the whole reforming bad boy trope and think it was really romantic or something.”

Puck blinked. He really had no idea what she’d just said but it sounded positive at least.

“But, of course, that would require you to _actually_ reform,” she continued in a dry voice and aiming a raised eyebrow at him. “And as well as that, does Kurt return your… um… interest?”

“I’m on it,” Puck replied. “Both of those things.”

“Because,” Quinn continued, ignoring him. “There is no way any of us are helping you to harass Kurt. He’s already getting enough trouble from Karofsky. You might want to think about that actually because Karofsky could cause some trouble for you as well. That guy has some serious problems.”

 _‘More than you know_ ,’ Puck thought but he wasn’t going to say anything. He’d made that promise and he’d keep it. Instead he just nodded and smiled at Quinn as if she was the wisest woman on the planet.

“That’s why it would be great to have the Cheerios onside,” he said. “As for Kurt, well, it’s all kinda new for both of us. Hopefully it’ll go where I’d like it to go.”

They were both silent and Santana in particular watched him with narrowed eyes. He didn’t want to admit it but it was a little unnerving.

Finally Santana nodded. “Okay,” she said. “We’ll see what we can work out.”

He had to hurry to get to class on time and it was one he shared with Karofsky. He gave him a smirk, received a glare in return, and then took his seat in the back already feeling exhausted. So far it had been quite a morning.

By the time he got to lunch, Kurt was already sitting between Rachel and Mercedes and it was also very obvious that Rachel had owned up to Finn about the stunt she’d pulled… and that Finn was not happy about it.

Puck momentarily considered backing out of the cafeteria and ditching his tray but he figured that would be just putting off the inevitable. And it might be an even bigger risk to his slowly reviving friendship with Finn if Finn were to think that Puck was hiding from him over this Rachel thing.

So, he plonked his tray on the table beside Finn, sat down, and took the bull by the horns.

“So, I figure Rachel finally took my advice and owned up to you, huh?”

Finn turned and gave him a dirty look. Puck sighed.

“Look, I’m sorry, dude. When I went there I thought it was over some duet thing and the girl jumped me. That was it though. I told her and I’m telling you, I don’t roll with the cheating thing anymore, okay. Besides, remember that Kurt thing we were talking about?”

Finn eyed him with narrowed eyes for a moment and then nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “I’m not gonna thank you though for just doing the right thing.”

And that was okay with Puck, he could get that, and when he gave Finn his best friendly grin he was relieved at the slow smile he got in return.

“It’s all just such a mess though,” Finn said with a sigh. “I get that she was hurt over the Santana thing and I apologized for that, like a hundred times. I never deliberately set out to hurt her. I just can’t understand why she’d do that to me.”

Puck looked up to where both Rachel and Kurt were sitting and jumped in his seat a little when he realized that they were both staring at him. Kurt’s face was hard to read but Rachel’s was an odd mixture of regret and resentment. He figured the regret was probably for Finn, which meant that the resentment was for him. Whatever. She only had herself to blame.

“Girls do dumb things sometimes,” he said to Finn. “Don’t get me wrong, guys do too. The good thing is that she told you about it, Finn. I guess now you just have to figure out if you can forgive her.”

Finn sighed, shrugged, and shovelled a huge pile of macaroni into his mouth. Puck guessed that their conversation was over.

After lunch they had Glee and that was pretty much a disaster. Rachel sat with Mercedes and basically cried throughout the whole lesson until Mr. Schue gave up and sent her out of the room. Once she was gone, Santana made the remark that Rachel would be back to herself and ready to bore them all with a song about heartbreak by the time they next had Glee, Finn told her to shut up, and the room erupted into another argument. Puck kept out of it and he couldn’t help noticing that Kurt did too.

He had football practice after school and Puck had to admit he was a fair bit nervous about it. When he and Finn got out to the field he could see Karofsky standing with Azimio and Strando, whispering together. When they glanced over at him he knew he could expect some trouble.

What he didn’t expect was that the first time Karofsky came out of nowhere and sent him flying, Finn was suddenly there ramming a shoulder into Karofsky’s side. By the time Puck got up, Karofsky was lying on the ground, wheezing for breath.

“Thanks, man,” Puck mumbled as they both stood over Karofsky.

“No problem,” Finn replied, sounding quite cheerful. The rest of the team joined them and Finn glanced around the group. “So, we’re supposed to be a team and these days we’re a winning team. If I see anyone deciding that they don’t want to play as part of the team, that they think their own personal likes or dislikes are more important than this team, then I’ll be having a chat with Coach Bieste about who I think should be playing. Or not playing.”

“Don’t push it, Hudson.” It was Strando who spoke and when Finn took a step towards him, Puck reached out and put his hand on Finn’s arm.

“Let me,” he said. “Finn’s right, and _I’m_ here to play… and win. You think I give a damn about what you think of me, or who I choose to date? Believe me, I don’t give a fuck what you think. But I do give a fuck about this team so if you decide that taking me by surprise is more important than getting in a good practice and winning our next game, I’ll have a big surprise waiting for you somewhere where you least expect it. But it won’t be on the field because this team is too important for that shit. So, get your act together and decide what you want more… a good winning team or a bunch of people after your hide because you made us lose.”

He scanned the faces around them after he’d made his little speech and was fairly pleased with what he saw. He’d expected Sam, Artie and Mike to agree with him but it was a nice surprise how many of the other members of the team were nodding as well. Good, if he could isolate Karofsky, Azimio and Strando enough so that they had very little support they’d hopefully just fade away and shut up. Well, he’d probably still have to deal with Karofsky but at the same time, Karofsky would have to be very careful that no one figured out what his deal actually was.

“Are you guys here for practice or a tea party?” Coach Bieste roared from the sideline and everyone jumped and looked a little sheepish. “Because I’ve got one cucumber short of a sandwich and the good china is waiting.”

Practice went smoothly after that and it wasn’t until he was being side-eyed in the locker room that Puck remembered the drama. He sighed.

“Look, I wasn’t interested in any of you ugly assholes last week,” he said loudly. “And I’m certainly not interested in any of you now. I have standards, you know.”

Oddly enough there was some muffled laughter over that and Puck felt the tension that he hadn’t even realized was there dissipate from his shoulders.

He’d already arranged to drive Finn home after practice and he had to admit he was relieved and pleased when Finn asked him to stay because, whilst it was great to be friends with Finn again, he was also hoping to see Kurt as well.

He had no luck though because Kurt wasn’t there and when Finn let slip that Kurt had a date with Blaine at the Lima Bean a little tendril of jealousy unwound in Puck’s chest and, well now, that was new.

At that point he figured he was fucked… and maybe he’d been a little too full of himself in assuming that Kurt would automatically be attracted to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Kurt took his seat opposite Blaine, sipped his grande non-fat mocha, and watched Blaine fidget nervously.

And really, even if he hadn’t known exactly what Blaine had been up to, it would have been way too obvious that Blaine was feeling both anxious and guilty.

“So,” Kurt said softly. “Anything you want to tell me? Anything you want to get off your chest?”

“Huh?” Blaine said, sounding startled and, well yes, abysmally guilty. “No. I mean, of course not so how about Sectionals huh who would have thought that we’d end up in a tie I mean that was really a shock and-“

Kurt interrupted by raising his hand.

“Blaine,” he said. “Take a breath.”

Blaine smiled sheepishly. “Right.”

“So, what did you think of Puck’s performance?” Kurt asked calmly, and Blaine looked utterly confused.

“Um,” Blaine said. “I don’t remember… uh, did he have a solo?”

“He did a duet,” Kurt said. “With Quinn, remember?”

“Oh.” Blaine blinked and honestly, Kurt thought, it was a lucky thing that Blaine looked relatively cute when he was confused or Kurt would be kicking him under the table. “Um… wasn’t that Sam?”

“You tell me,” Kurt replied. “You’re the one that seems to be able to tell them apart. Everyone else gets them _soooo_ mixed up.”

Blaine actually appeared to go pale. “Oh dear,” he said, and Kurt found himself laughing. A little bitterly, he had to admit, but laughing all the same.

“Yup,” Kurt said, popping the ‘p’. “Oh dear is right. Tell me, what possessed you to go bumbling up to _Noah Puckerman,_ of all people, thinking that he was Sam Evans? They’re _nothing_ alike.”

“They’re both tall,” Blaine said. “And he was wearing a hat.”

“ _He was wearing a hat_?” Kurt practically hissed. “Oh, well, yes, that explains everything. Honestly Blaine, what were you thinking? Do you have any idea of what you’ve done?”

“Okay, yes, I do know actually,” Blaine said, attempting to sit taller in his chair. “I was trying to help a friend. You were getting dragged right back into that place, Kurt. That place where you’re silent, where you have nightmares, and you think that no one around you notices or cares. Well, I _do_ care, and I wasn’t going to sit back and watch you go through all that again.”

And now it was Kurt’s turn to blink, because really that was… he had to admit that he was touched by what Blaine had said. Still rather annoyed at the situation Blaine had caused but he was definitely starting to feel the burn of teary-eyed emotion.

He cleared his throat. “Well, okay then,” he said softly, and Blaine, after a surprised look (probably over Kurt letting him off so lightly) offered him a smile, which Kurt found himself returning.

“I appreciate that,” he continued, after they’d both sat smiling at each other for an embarrassingly long moment. “Unfortunately, it _was_ Noah Puckerman that you told however and that has caused a _bit_ of a problem.”

“He’s not giving you a hard time, is he?” Blaine asked, anxiously. “I confess he wasn’t what I expected, particularly when I thought he was Sam, but he did seem prepared to help. Quite adamant that he would, actually.”

“Oh, he wants to help,” Kurt replied, and darn it, he could feel that he was actually beginning to blush. “In fact, he’s so _adamant_ about helping that he’s outed himself as bisexual and appears determined to convince the entire school that he and I are… an item.”

“Oh dear,” Blaine whispered, and Kurt nodded in thorough agreement.

“Um…” Blaine eventually continued in a tentative voice. “It’s not possible that any of that is true, is it?”

“Once upon a time, I would have said no,” Kurt said. “But anything is possible when it comes to Puck, I guess.” His blush deepened when he noticed the startled expression in Blaine’s eyes. “I meant the bisexuality, of course,” he added hastily. “He and I… no… I mean we’re not... um... involved.”

“Oh,” Blaine replied, and there was an expression on his face that Kurt couldn’t decipher.

“What are you thinking?” Kurt asked suspiciously.

“Well, two things actually,” Blaine said. “One, that you never know, maybe Puck’s solution could work. And second, if you’re really not going to take him up on it, could I have his phone number?”

Kurt was speechless but when Blaine grinned at him impishly he did manage to throw a handful of sugar packets at Blaine’s head.

By the time he left the Lima Bean it was icily cold and nearly dark and Kurt spent a couple of minutes warming his hands near the Navigator’s heater before he drove home.

He was still thinking about Blaine as he got out of the car and locked it. It had been surprisingly easy to forgive Blaine for his stupid mistake, and he was grateful to have found such a good friend, but it was becoming harder to ignore the way he’d reacted when Blaine had joked about wanting Puck’s phone number. Of course, he wasn’t entirely sure Blaine had been joking but that still didn’t excuse the possessive thought that had trumpeted through his head that there was no way Blaine was getting anywhere near Puck.

Kurt was still pondering that as he rounded the corner of the house and headed along the path to the porch, but he was aware enough to notice the dim shadow of a figure leaning against the porch railing and he froze as his heart suddenly began pounding in his chest.

“Who’s there?” he called out in as firm a voice as he could muster, and the figure moved slightly.

“Just me,” Puck called out. “I was just leaving. Sorry if I startled you.”

Kurt took a deep breath as relief flooded through him almost making him feel dizzy for a second. Oddly enough that same relief didn’t seem to have much impact on his heart because that just kept on thudding away rapidly with the  sort of nervous excitement that Kurt hadn’t felt since he’d been mooning over Finn.

And, oh, that was a bad, bad sign. And another bad sign was that he couldn’t help having the sneaking suspicion that Puck hadn’t been ‘just leaving’ but that he’d been waiting around for some time.

Waiting for Kurt.

Kurt immediately squashed that thought and headed on up to the porch. In the rapidly fading twilight he could see that Puck looked oddly subdued and as somber as Kurt had ever seen him and his heart, which had finally been starting to calm down, lurched in his chest in a truly sickening way… and yes, Kurt told himself, he was now utterly fucked because he really had gone and done it again. He was attracted to Puck and it was now going to be even more difficult to resist going along with Puck’s crazy plan.

“So, how was your date?” Puck asked in a quiet voice.

“Huh?” Kurt blinked. “Oh. I was just with Blaine, that’s all. I finally got the opportunity to tell him off for being such an unholy fool.”

“So, I’m guessing he didn’t get a good night kiss either, then,” Puck replied.

Kurt blinked again. It sounded like Puck was smiling but at the same time there was something underneath the tone of his voice, as if it was a question rather than a flippant remark, a question for which he really wanted to hear an answer.

“You seem to be obsessed with good night kisses,” Kurt finally said.

“Hey, good night kisses are fun.”

Puck sounded slightly offended and Kurt smiled.

“I wouldn’t know about that,” he murmured without thinking, and then blushed when he realized exactly what he’d said. He cleared his throat and continued before Puck could say anything. “So, obviously, no, about Blaine. He’s not my type anyway.”

 _And oh god, why had he said that?_ Kurt thought dismally, and really, it was like he’d left his brain in the car or something, because that was the worst thing he could have said and it meant that Puck was completely going to reply with...

“So, who is your type then?” in a low voice... and it meant that Kurt was going to completely end up thinking…

 _‘You’_ … and thank god he’d managed to only think it and not _say_ it.

Kurt sighed. Honestly, he was so appallingly predictable when he had a crush on someone that it was thoroughly sickening.

“Come on, tell me,” Puck added, voice still low and full of coaxing enticement. Somehow the fact that Kurt couldn’t really see his expression, other than the soft gleam of his eyes, only made the moment seem more intense.

“Someone taller than Blaine for a start,” Kurt finally answered, taking refuge in sarcasm.

“Well, that covers just about anyone.”

Puck sounded thoroughly amused and when he took a step closer to where Kurt was standing, Kurt didn’t have the sense to take a step back.

“I always figured that maybe you liked the jock type,” Puck murmured, and the fact that he’d moved even closer again wasn’t lost on Kurt even as he felt his face heat up at the words. He knew that he’d been a little too obvious about Finn the previous year and it was just his luck that Puck had apparently not been too oblivious to notice it and was now using it to his advantage.

“Oh, did you really?” Kurt sniped. “Well, you’re completely wrong. These days I go for the geek type.”

“So, someone like Artie then?”

Kurt blanched. Artie was a good friend but no, he really didn’t want to think of him in any other light than that.

Puck let out a low laugh that did something weird to Kurt’s stomach.

“Somehow I don’t believe that.”

Kurt shivered.

“Yes well,” he practically babbled. “It’s cold and I don’t want to keep you. I should go inside and you should… go.”

He attempted to get his feet moving but somehow he was frozen to the spot with Puck now so close that the warmth from his body was as enticing as it was nerve-wracking.

“Well, if that’s what you want,” Puck murmured and Kurt’s feet still did not _move_.

“I know that for some reason you don’t believe that I like you,” Puck continued. “And at the moment I can really only think of one way to prove to you that I do, but the thing is I feel like I kinda need to know if _you_ like _me_ before I try it. Or at least that you won’t slap me or something after.”

Kurt blinked. Honestly, Puck continued to astonish him in many ways and here was another one because it was pretty clear that Puck was trying to make certain of Kurt’s _consent_ and after what had happened with Karofsky it seemed to have the effect of making Kurt just want to melt into a puddle of goo. And that was bad, bad, bad, because this was Noah Puckerman and the potential for absolute disaster was still overwhelmingly strong.

But still… surely it couldn’t hurt… just once… when Puck was so clearly offering… and Kurt had to admit that he wanted…

He took a deep breath. “Okay.”

And Puck didn’t hesitate, which Kurt found rather flattering in the time that he had to think about it, which wasn’t long, because he found himself pressed up against the porch railing with Puck’s arms around his waist and Puck’s lips on his in what seemed like two seconds flat.

But for all that it happened quickly, Puck’s mouth was oddly gentle, but firmly coaxing a response out of Kurt that was all too easy to give, and he quickly fell into the languid push and pull of a kiss that he finally was able to truly enjoy… thoroughly. By the time Puck pulled away, Kurt realized that his hands were clutching at Puck’s solid shoulders and he was panting for breath and the fact that Puck seemed to have similar breathing difficulties just made it all the more exciting.

“Damn,” Puck whispered, and then they were kissing again.

Puck’s mouth was all wet heat and firm pressure and Kurt stifled a gasp against Puck’s lips as he opened himself up to it. Their tongues slid together and Kurt heard a soft moan. When he realized that it was Puck who’d made it, something hot clenched in his gut and he knew that he was well on his way to having a growing problem in his pants and he wondered just exactly how Puck would react if he noticed it.

It was that thought that pulled him out of the kiss, drawing back even as Puck attempted to follow.

“It’s getting late,” he mumbled, trying to make himself leave the warm circle of Puck’s embrace. “Carole will be looking for me soon.”

“Do you believe me now?” Puck asked quietly and, yes, Kurt could definitely hear the smug note in his voice and even though it annoyed him, at the same time he couldn’t help thinking that maybe Puck was entitled to it because he had never imagined that kissing someone could be anything like what he’d just experienced.

“Possibly,” Kurt hedged, and when Puck let out a little snort of laughter and closed the gap between them again, Kurt met him halfway.

He was pretty sure he could quickly get addicted to Puck’s mouth and the thought was sobering even as Kurt slid his hands to the back of Puck’s neck and pulled him closer. Because the truth was he still really had no clear idea of what Puck was really up to and whether it would really be the wisest course of action to go along with it.

Then their tongues tangled again and for a long moment Kurt didn’t care about wisdom or intentions anymore. All he cared about was the way Puck’s hands clenched at his waist and the way Puck’s mouth moved against his and that was more than enough to care about.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the porch light suddenly flared on, piercing the darkness around them, and shocking them both. One moment they were pressed together, the next they were on opposite sides of the porch, both staring at the front door and breathing hard.

“Oh, um,” Kurt finally said into the awkward silence. “My dad will be home soon. Carole always turns on the light for him.”

“Okay,” Puck replied, flashing a smile at Kurt that didn’t fool him for a second. He could easily see that Puck was still unnerved by how close they’d come to being caught. For a moment he was disappointed at Puck’s reaction but then he realized that he wouldn’t have been that thrilled to have been seen either.

“Hey,” Puck said in a low voice as he moved closer again. “I don’t regret it, right, but it’s always embarrassin’ to be caught with your pants ‘round your ankles, you know.”

Kurt bit his bottom lip because that was an image he had really not needed in that moment but when he looked up and saw the amused twinkle in Puck’s eyes he couldn’t stifle the laughter any longer.

“I hate to say it,” Puck said as Kurt giggled at him. “But I really should be going. After the whole juvie thing Ma still gets worried when I’m late. And I’m _very_ late.”

For a moment Kurt wanted to ask Puck what had made him crash that car into the store and end up in juvie but something told him that not only was it the wrong time to ask, but that Puck wouldn’t be too forthcoming with his answer. It struck Kurt that he’d never really wondered about Puck’s unfortunate adventure before and he was still thinking about that when Puck’s brief kiss took him by surprise.

He watched Puck walk off into the darkness and then went inside, shivering as he suddenly realized how cold he was. The warmth inside was a relief but Kurt found himself feeling a little dazed as he went upstairs. His lips felt full and swollen from the kisses he’d shared with Puck and he blushed as he wondered if it was noticeable.

He closed the door to his room and stood for a moment, gazing blankly into space as he thought back over what had turned into a very strange evening. He still couldn’t quite believe that he’d ended up kissing Noah Puckerman. A year ago, even a couple of months ago, he had never dreamed that such a thing would be possible… or that he’d want it.

But there was no denying that heavy warm feeling in his gut and what it meant. The attraction he was feeling could easily flare into something more if he continued to go along with Puck’s plan and it was getting harder for Kurt to avoid the fact that he was tempted to go along with it. Particularly if it meant more kisses like those he’d just experienced.

His phone chimed and Kurt smiled as he took it out of his jacket pocket, wondering if just maybe it was a text from Puck.

**_‘So, fancy, just how many boyfriends do you have?’_ **

 


	7. Chapter 7

Even though he was actually really late and he knew that his phone was buzzing with texts from his Ma, Puck had to sit for a few moments once he'd got into his truck.

He'd been hard since his lips had first touched Kurt's – well the truth was he'd been half-hard just thinking about kissing Kurt whilst he'd been waiting in the porch – so by the time Kurt had turned up various parts of Puck had been raring to go.

And that kiss had been somethin', he thought. In fact, if he wanted to get home anytime soon, he'd better stop thinking about it, particularly as he really did not want to get caught jerking off out the front of Kurt's house by Kurt's dad.

So, Puck closed his eyes, counted to ten and started his truck. By the time he got home, his little problem had gone, but he was still looking forward to having some alone time in his room and reliving that kiss in all its glory… because how could he have known that Kurt's lips were so soft and so pliable, or that his boy seemed to have a natural instinctive talent on how to use them in the way most certain to make Puck lose his mind?

He was also looking very much forward to seeing Kurt again the next day, and if he could find some way for them to have some alone time _together_ then that would be even better.

But the thing was, when he did see Kurt again the following morning, Kurt did not look that great, and Puck's heart sank. Kurt was pale, there were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept all night, and the tension in his body was obvious. Even Finn had noticed it, going by the look he gave Puck when he met them both at the school doors.

Puck nodded at them, eyeing the bedraggled Christmas tree that Finn was holding with a skeptical look. Perhaps after it was decorated it would look better, and certainly the fake presents that Puck had lifted from the mall could only improve it, but he couldn't really care less when Kurt was looking like he thoroughly regretted those kisses of the night before. Even if he did blush when he saw Puck.

It was only as he was following Kurt into the choir room that Puck realized that maybe _he_ wasn't the cause of Kurt's obvious funk.

Maybe Karofsky had made his presence felt again, Puck thought, but either way he'd have to drag whatever was bothering Kurt out of him as soon as possible.

Unfortunately at the end of rehearsal Kurt was cornered by Mr Schue, who was mumbling something about a gift for Coach Sylvester and between that, and discovering that Brittany still believed in Santa, it wasn't until after the first two classes of the day that Puck was finally able to corner Kurt.

He hovered outside Kurt's classroom until Kurt appeared and then he took him by the hand and led him into the Nurse's room. As always it was empty and Puck leaned against one of the beds and crossed his arms, watching as Kurt blushed and fidgeted with the strap of his messenger bag.

″Gonna tell me about it?″ Puck asked, quietly.

″That wasn't a good idea, Puck,″ Kurt replied, tartly. ″Holding hands and wandering through the hallways. I, for one, do not want to get this fabulous outfit that I'm wearing slushied.″

Puck rolled his eyes and then let them linger over Kurt's body. Yeah, Kurt did look good, he had to admit, as if the last expression of Kurt's defiance was in his clothing. Tight black pants, with those tall boots that Puck was getting very fond of, and some sort of silvery green looking shirt under a gray vest. It was a combination that made Kurt's eyes seem to glow and made Puck's hands itch to wander all over him.

But still, he was getting distracted here and Kurt still hadn't answered his question.

″No one is gonna slushie you,″ he said, and when Kurt gave him a dubious look Puck guessed that he'd been so busy looking out for Karofsky that he hadn't yet noticed the parcel of Cheerios that had been hovering in his vicinity all morning. But Puck had noticed and it had been the one bright spot in an otherwise anxious morning.

″Look, babe,″ he said, and he smirked at Kurt's startled look. ″I need to know whether you regret what happened last night or if it's something else bothering you.″

″Nothing's bothering me,″ Kurt replied quickly.

Puck sighed. ″Yeah, so don't ever try to make your fortune through lying,″ he said. ″Cause you suck at it, Kurt.″

Kurt glared at him. After a moment the look dropped and Kurt sighed as if he was too tired to bother trying to maintain his usual level of bitch-face and Puck did not like that at all.

″C'mon, Kurt,″ he prompted.

″I just don't want you to go and do anything stupid,″ Kurt said, softly. ″Well, more stupid than you've already done, I suppose,″ he sniped a moment later.

That made Puck grin, but at the same time he was getting a little tired of Kurt's continued avoidance of answering the question so he just crossed his arms again and waited Kurt out.

″I think Karofsky might be… following me or something,″ Kurt finally said, taking out his phone. ″I got this after I went inside last night.″

Puck read the text in grim silence, because, yeah, it did come across as very stalkerish and he really didn't like the idea that Karofsky had been nearby when he'd been kissing Kurt the previous night. Not because he regretted the kisses, but because the idea of Karofsky watching with such avid interest was, well, fucking creepy.

He also wasn't entirely sure what to do about it. It seemed like Karofsky was going to ignore all the warnings Puck had given him and short of forcibly outing him, which Puck really did not want to do for many reasons, it was starting to look like it was going to be far more difficult to get Karofsky to back off than Puck had initially thought.

Besides, he thought, as he handed Kurt's phone back to him, he was very close now to getting Kurt to give him the boyfriend card and he wanted all of his boyfriend's attention on _him_ , and not distracted by some loser jerk who couldn't take no for an answer.

So, all in all, it was a good thing that they only had a couple of days to go before the Christmas break because it would give Puck not only plenty of time to think of what to do next, but also the opportunity to spend some quality time with said boyfriend.

The boyfriend who was currently looking like he might pass out at any moment.

″Hey,″ Puck said, reaching out and pulling Kurt closer. Kurt was tense but to Puck's delight he settled in Puck's arms without any hesitation.

But unfortunately when Puck pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the side of Kurt's throat, Kurt's body stiffened and he pulled away.

″Sorry,″ Kurt mumbled. ″I forgot.″

″Forgot what?″ Puck asked, with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because Kurt's expression was the most guarded he'd ever seen it.

″Forgot that I decided that this wasn't a good idea,″ Kurt replied. ″And it's not Puck. I appreciate your honorable motivations of course, but I can't go along with it.″

″Fuck honorable whatevers,″ Puck said firmly, and when Kurt looked up at him Puck winked. ″I'm doing this because I want to. And the only good reason for you thinking that it's not a good idea is if _you_ don't want to because you don't _like_ me. And you kissed me back last night, babe. I can tell that you like me.″

Kurt blushed, but Puck could already tell that he wasn't relenting.

″You know,″ Puck pushed. ″I always thought that when you got yourself a boyfriend you'd be all up in that. You wouldn't hide it and you'd show everyone that if anyone had a problem with it that it was _their_ problem, not yours.″

He knew immediately that it had been the wrong thing to say when he saw the spark of anger flash into Kurt's eyes.

″Oh, so now someone like you has _deigned_ to be my boyfriend it makes everything that's happened okay, is that it?″ Kurt said, bitterly. ″Do you know why I sang Le Jazz Hot _by myself_ during a _duets_ project, Puck? Because it was made damned clear to me that even when someone was _willing_ to sing with me I was too damned _toxic_ for _them_ to be safe. It didn't even matter if _I_ was safe or not. That was the message I got from those I thought were actually on my side. So, forgive me if I find that the best way to survive the rest of high school is to go along with that, because as far as I can tell, it seems to be my best bet.″

Kurt was gone before Puck had even opened his mouth and that might have been a good thing, he reflected, because he'd actually had no idea what to say. He hoisted himself onto one of the beds and stared at the door thoughtfully.

It seemed that Kurt's anger had made his mask slip a little and Puck had not failed to see the pain and hurt and damage behind it… and it seemed as if Karofsky had not been the one solely responsible for that damage.

Kurt might be grateful for the help the glee club were now giving him but Puck suspected it was coming at a high cost to his pride, for the help was coming from those who had either ignored his situation for too long... or had made it worse.

Either way though, Puck thought, he had a feeling that Kurt was wrong about keeping his head down being the best bet, because, well, he'd been doing that this year as far as Puck could tell, and Karofsky was still on his case. So, it was time to think that a different approach might work, and that the change in behavior had to come from those around him and not Kurt himself.

And the interesting thing was that it had already started. The glee club had been the first step with their active protection of Kurt… not to mention the change in Finn's attitude. The Cheerio's were the next step and it looked like they were on board at the prompting of Quinn and Santana, and for a lot of the school where the Cheerio's led, they followed. That just left the football team and other assorted jocks, and that was a work in progress.

The problem was that it seemed to be coming too late for Kurt to actually _see_ it, so the difficult thing would be convincing him to just _be_ himself again.

Because Puck wanted that, in a big way, more than he'd thought he would… and he wanted to be Kurt's boyfriend when it happened.

Of course, he couldn't force Kurt into that and at some point, if Kurt kept saying no, he'd have to back off, as much as he didn't want to. But they both knew that Kurt was attracted to him and they both knew that the reason Kurt was holding back was because he was all tangled up and worn down about this Karofsky business.

But at least Puck had the Christmas break to work on that side of things before he had to think of a way to deal with Karofsky once and for all.

The bell went for next class and Puck squared his shoulders and left the nurse's room. So much thinking all at once had made him feel a bit tired but this wasn't the time to take a nap and be absent from class.

He didn't see Kurt again until lunch in the cafeteria and he wasn't surprised that Kurt had barricaded himself between Mercedes and Rachel and seemed determined to ignore Puck. The only bright spot was that Karofsky was absent and Puck was more relieved about that for Kurt's sake than for his own.

The rest of the day continued in a way that, in Puck's opinion, was a great big fucking disaster. Their attempts to spread some Christmas cheer by carol-singing around the school ended up with them all holed up in the choir room picking bits of crap and garbage out of each other's hair and clothes, and as Kurt was still avoiding him Puck didn't even get the opportunity to take advantage of the moment.

So, all in all, Puck went home thoroughly frustrated and his mood wasn't improved the next morning when they discovered that Coach Sylvester had trashed their tree and stolen all of their presents.

Still, Puck didn't pay too much attention to any of that. Stuff that happened around the Coach always seemed to be weird but also always seemed to sort itself out in the end so Puck wasn't at all surprised when she rounded them all up to go to Mr. Schue's place and decorate a tree.

Puck was far more interested in the chance it gave him to get close to Kurt because Kurt had, yet again, been very successfully avoiding him all day.

″You can't ignore me forever,″ he whispered into Kurt's ear, once he'd finally managed to get close to him by the simple means of tangling tinsel around Mercedes, Rachel and a handy standing lamp and then taking their place beside Kurt.

He saw the little shiver that went through Kurt and couldn't stop himself from smirking.

″You underestimate me,″ Kurt replied.

″Oh no, I don't,″ Puck answered quickly. ″But maybe you underestimate yourself.″

Kurt gave him a sharp look. ″Perhaps I've underestimated you, because I really didn't think you'd even know what that word meant.″

And ouch, Puck had to admit that hurt a little and it must have showed on his face for a second because Kurt suddenly looked a little ashamed of himself.

″Yeah, ha ha, whatever,″ Puck drawled. ″You might think it'll be easy to get rid of me by insultin' me but I'm more tenacious than that. Oh, look, another big word.″

″Yes, all right,″ Kurt whispered, and his face was now flushed. ″I apologize. I know you're not stupid even if your grades don't reflect that.″

Well, Puck couldn't argue with that, although he _was_ working on it and his score on his latest math test was the best he'd ever had. With Artie's help, Puck knew he could do even better.

″Apology accepted,″ Puck said. ″And I've already thought of how you can make it up to me. Come on.″

Without giving Kurt a chance to think, Puck took his hand, stepped into the nearby hallway and closed the living room door behind them. Immediately the noise level went down and Puck could clearly hear Kurt's soft gasp of surprise.

″Puck, this isn't a good-″

″Idea, yeah, bla bla,″ Puck interrupted. ″Look, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. It was the wrong thing to say and I shouldn't have put that on you. I know that this school has been hard on you and I know I've been part of that and I can't tell you how sorry I feel about that now. I guess you could say that I've been as bad as Karofsky in some ways but the truth is, I really like _you_ , Kurt. And I don't want you to feel like you have to hide who you are.″

Puck wasn't sure what to think of the expression that had dawned on Kurt's face as he'd been talking. He was looking down, frowning and not meeting Puck's eyes, and his lips were pressed firmly together as if he was forcing himself to stay silent.

Puck watched him, trying to decide whether he should keep quiet or keep talking, until eventually Kurt let out a soft sigh.

″I'm tired, Puck,″ he said, and Puck blinked because it wasn't exactly what he'd expected to hear. Still, he could see Kurt's point.

″I know, babe,″ he replied, and Kurt finally glanced up at him. ″But you're not alone anymore. We're all here for you.″

And it seemed like he'd finally said the right thing if the cautious warmth that came into Kurt's eyes was anything to go by.

″Are you?″

Puck had a feeling there was a fair bit behind that question but he wasn't going to fuck it up again now.

″Yeah, Kurt,″ he said, softly. ″ _I_ am, and _I'm_ not goin' anywhere. We're in this together.″

Their eyes held for a long, heavy moment and then Kurt's face flushed and he glanced towards the closed door.

″We should-″

″So I have a new obsession,″ Puck interrupted quickly because, hey, he might be more sappy these days, goddammit, but he was still _Puck,_ the biggest sex shark in school, and there was no way he wasn't going to get the payoff for an emotional moment.

″What?″ Kurt asked with narrowed eyes, but Puck could see the little spark of laughter in them.

″Mistletoe kisses,″ Puck said triumphantly, holding up a small bunch of greenery with a neat red ribbon tied around it. He figured it was probably the most useful thing he'd ever lifted from one of Rachel's pockets… and he'd saved Finn from the embarrassment of having to knock her back in front of everyone too.

″Oh,″ Kurt said. ″I see.″

″It's a tradition.″ Puck took a step closer to Kurt and couldn't stop himself from smiling when Kurt didn't take a step back. ″A very, very nice one.″

″Really,″ Kurt replied in a flat voice, but Puck's smile was echoed on his lips and Puck took that as a good sign and didn't hesitate to lower his head over Kurt's and press their mouths together in a soft kiss.

He could still feel Kurt's smile as he stepped closer, wrapping an arm around Kurt's waist, and deepened the kiss but a moment later he was simply lost in the slick, wet slide together of their tongues and the breathy little noises that Kurt was making.

So, it wasn't until the noise level suddenly rose and he heard the loud voices of Rachel and Mercedes practically yell ″Oh my God,″ that he realized that the door had been opened.

He looked up and saw their shocked faces and then met Santana's amused eyes behind them.

″Wanky,″ she said, as she raised an eyebrow and smirked at him.


End file.
